Himitsu no akumu
by caditeeos
Summary: Summary: It's been three months since Ichigo lost his powers, and Isshin notices some strange behavior from the strawberry. Determined to find out what's going on Isshin tails the teen only for him keep disappearing, after both he and Kisuke fail to keep track of him they enlist the help of a certain golden eyed feline. Will she be able to keep up, if so what will she find out?
1. Chapter 1

Himitsu no akumu

Summary: It's been three months since Ichigo lost his powers, and Isshin notices some strange behavior from the strawberry. Determined to find out what's going on Isshin tails the teen only for him keep disappearing, after both he and Kisuke fail to keep track of him they enlist the help of a certain golden eyed feline. Will she be able to keep up, if so what will she find out? Rated M for language blood/gore and future lemons pairing Yoruichi/Ichigo.

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bleach or any of the characters they belong to Tite Kubo.**

**A/N my first fic reviews are welcome, tell me how I did but please be gentle I'm sensitive ;) **

Ichigo leaned back on his bed and sighed, from a distance it would look like nothing was amiss, just a teenager lounging about on Friday evening. But if one were to look closer they would see dark bags under his eyes from lack of sleep, his eyes moving restlessly under his eyelids; his face set in deep scowl a far more serious expression than his usual frown and his body was tensed like spring ready to snap at the smallest provocation.

He shifted his left arm over his face for the third time in under five minutes, it looked like he was just blocking the sun from his face but he was actually checking his watch with the one eye he had secretly opened. The single amber orb glared at the mechanism as if staring would make the seconds hand move faster, to no avail however the device kept on its agonizingly slow pace much to his ire. Ichigo sighed once more and removed his hand from his face only to make a fist and smack it into his bed in frustration seemingly oblivious to the fact that he was being watched.

Isshin crouched low on the roof of a nearby house and scrutinized his eldest child as he scratched the stubble on his cheek. Ichigo had been like this for weeks now and it was getting worse and worse by the day, it had all started about two months after Ichigo had lost his shinigami powers. That loss had been a tough pill to swallow so it wasn't surprising to Isshin when Ichigo had begun acting sullen, it had upset him when the soul society had just abandoned his son rendering his great sacrifice meaningless, as well as when his so called human friends acted like he didn't exist. But then the strangeness started it had started with training at a local gym which for a few weeks had consumed almost all of his free time, during that time Ichigo had begun to stop talking to his family only speaking when spoken to even then it was just a few terse words that held no real emotion.

In addition he had started to listen to more violent music, as the days progressed the music became darker and more hateful until Isshin had to step in to tell the strawberry to keep his music down and his rented albums out of sight lest it corrupt his sisters. It was around that time that Ichigo had started disappearing; he had stopped spending so much time at the gym and had started to miss dinner more often. Curious Isshin had popped by the gym one day only to find that Ichigo hadn't been there in a couple of days and that he had stopped going for hours on end and now only showed up every other day and trained for an hour. While he been talking to the owner about whether he knew where Ichigo went after he left the gym a young boy of about thirteen walked up and asked "Kurosaki-san are you really Tora-kun's father"? Isshin quirked a brow in his direction then asked "Tora-kun"?

The owner replied that most of the patrons of the gym had taken to calling Ichigo that on account of his hair color and the ferocity of his training. When Isshin had confirmed that he was Ichigo's father and asked why he wished to know, the boy smiled and said "I overheard your conversation and thought that if you were really Tora-kun's father that you would tell him I said thanks for saving me from those thugs the other day. I don't think any of them will forget the beat down he gave them… unfortunately he left before I could say thanks so would you please pass on the message Kurosaki-san"?

When Isshin had agreed the boy thanked him and went to the locker room the owner then told him that he didn't have a clue were Ichigo went after his training but showed him a video of Ichigo training. It disturbed Isshin slightly to see his son shadow boxing with 150 lbs. dumbbells like it was nothing but he shook it off , he thanked the owner then went home thinking on where Ichigo was disappearing to.

Later that night Isshin had been too preoccupied to attempt his usual attack on his son when he came home late instead they all sat down to a peaceful dinner in which his son had finally started to act normal when Karin asked "so Ichi-nii are you working out to get a girlfriend"? To which Ichigo flushed and shouted "no. why would you think it was something dumb like that"?

Isshin's face morphed into a shit eating grin, finally something he could use to get his son out of his funk "OH Karin-chan your right, who is it Tatsuki-chan, that sprinter girl who's always got her face in a book; hmm no maybe it's Orihime-san, a little out of your league but I approve OH HOHO I know your trying to change that red haired lesbian back, way-to-go son getting in shape just to show her what she is missing… unless OH KAMI NO Ichigo your trying to get a boyfriend, NOOOO COME BACK TO THE LIGHT ICHIGO. Oh Masaki help me our son is becoming a fanny bandit WHERE DID I GO WRONG… okay I'll do it I'll pay for a lady of the night I know you'll disapprove but-".

WHAP Karin's shoe slammed into the back of Isshin's head knocking him unconscious "put a cork in it you old fool he'll never bring home anybody with you acting insane like that"!

"So how 'bout it Ichi-nii are you trying to get a boyfriend or a girlfriend"? Asked Karin with a mischievous grin on her face, causing her older sibling to sprout a tic mark, "never mind I'm going to bed Yuzu thanks for dinner" as Ichigo stormed up the stairs to his room Isshin who had been pretending to be unconscious gazed at his son and smiled as he noted a small grin in the place of his sons scowl. Isshin huffed a sigh of happiness at this small victory as he laid there listening to Yuzu scold Karin about not hurting their father or teasing Ichigo like that.

But that had been days ago and Ichigo's mood had been getting worse as had his times of being unaccounted for, Isshin paid no mind to it however until one night all had been strangely quiet no hollows had shown up, no alerts from the soul society, but even more surprising to Isshin was last night when had just finished closing the clinic well past ten o'clock… no music. None of Ichigo's death metal could be heard which was odd because Ichigo usually didn't get bed until much later and Isshin had become accustomed to zoning out the angry music, Isshin crept slowly up the stairs not wanting to wake any of his children as neared Ichigo's room he began to hold his breath listening for any noise as he moved closer… and closer until he was at his son's bedroom door, quickly threw it open to find… nothing. That's right Ichigo's room was empty with the window opened just a crack, this caused Isshin to raise an eyebrow and wonder were his son had gone at this time of night.

So Isshin swallowed his soul candy and began searching for absent child. But much to his concern Ichigo was nowhere to be found, he wasn't at Kisuke's training ground he wasn't t the gym or the river or at Masaki's grave site. As Isshin climbed back in his house tired and worried for his son he climbed back in his gigai and waited Ichigo didn't come home until right before it was time to get up for school the elder Kurosaki listened as his son got changed grabbed a piece of toast and took off for school all while acting as if nothing had happened.

This brings us back to where we started as Isshin watches his son toss and turn while glancing at his watch as if waiting for something to happen, just as the sun was about to set Isshin heard a strange beeping noise coming from inside the house. To his surprise Ichigo rolled on his side a grabbed a Bluetooth from under the pillow put it in his ear pressed a button, mumbled a few words then nodded pressed another button rolled upright and grabbed a backpack from under his bed then pulled out a pitch black hoodie and put it on. Isshin stood up getting ready to follow his son he watched carefully as Ichigo pulled the backpack on then in a move so casual that it looked like he rehearsed it Ichigo pulled open the window swung himself out and around on the window cell, closed the window and dropped down landing on all fours like a cat. Ichigo then stood checked to see if anybody was watching him then he walked of

After thirty minutes of following Ichigo, Isshin realized where they were at: the train station, his eyes widened in shock Ichigo was running away! _When I find out where he is running to I'm going to get in my gigai, drag him back and give him a very thorough talking to_ thought Isshin as he watched as his son descended a staircase to a subway platform. Ichigo then lean against the wall in a corner so that he could barely be seen because of the shadows folded his arms over his chest and appeared to be waiting for the train. Determined to see what the hell his kid was up Isshin stood close to him and waited, CRASH Isshin whirled towards the source of the noise only to see that some stray dog had knocked over a trash can, he scoffed and turned back toward Ichigo only to gape at what he saw in the few seconds he had been distracted Ichigo had vanished into thin air.

**A/N well here is the first chapter how did I do, lemme know hopefully longer chapter next time. **


	2. Chapter 2

Himitsu no akumu

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bleach or any of the characters they belong to Tite Kubo.**

**A/N most of this chap will be Isshin POV the end will be Yoruichi's POV **

Chapter 2

Isshin stood dumbstruck, not only had Ichigo vanished from plain sight but he had managed to not leave a trace of him ever being there. He had scoured the area multiple times and used his captains' knowledge of kido to search the area, to no avail there simply no trace of his son anywhere. Isshin played the events over and over in his mind, Ichigo walks into the station stands in the shadow like he is hiding Isshin watches him, then the dog knocks over the trash can Isshin turns sees the dog scoffs turns back and Ichigo is gone._ I wonder how he pulled it off… if he still had his powers I would say flash step but then I would have heard the swish or been able to detect the reiatsu. Unless he had some sort of stealth force kido to use but with his control that would make his chances of that next to nil so it has to be either a trick a gadget or something else I don't know of. But giving the fact that his powers shouldn't even be back yet I'm lost. _

Isshin mused as he pinched the bridge of his nose trying to stop the oncoming headache "its times like these that make me wish I didn't quit smoking" muttered Isshin bitterly

Deciding that he since he couldn't find anything he would just go home and question his son about his Houdini habits later, with that he squared his shoulder and made his way home. As Isshin flash stepped home his thoughts ran wild _how did he do it I looked way for only a second or two then, poof… never mind that the question is why? Why has he been acting strange, sneaking out, the insane workouts the apparent lack of sleep, being out all night and the way he kept checking on his watch it fits the scenario that he could be sneaking out to meet up with a girl. _The though caused the Kurosaki elders frown to morph into a literal ear to ear smile.

But he had no time to think on it further as he had arrived at the house, Isshin then climbed into his gigai and stretched out the kinks deciding to wait up for Ichigo to get home as he waited at the dining room table Isshin pondered the possibility of Ichigo regaining his powers early and using a gadget of some sort to conceal his powers from everyone then decided to go straight to the source, trepidation to what he might find out mounted as he dialed his phone.

"Urahara shop" was the over enthusiastic greeting.

"Hi Kisuke, its Isshin listen has Ichigo stopped by the shop for anything lately"?

"Not recently" Kisuke's voice became serious "why has anything happened"?

"Not sure, but you would tell me if he came by with a problem or if you heard anything bad right"?

"Your doubt in our friendship wounds me deeply" wailed Kisuke then he became serious once again "of course I would Isshin what are friends for"

"Thanks, one more question there hasn't been any theft of anything weird in the soul society or any portals or strange energy spikes or any movement from Xcution has there"?

"That's more like three questions Isshin but none the less there hasn't been any portals or energy spikes that have come up on my sensors, on the theft or Xcution… not that I have been informed of" a heavy sigh punctuated the end of his statement.

"What is it Kisuke"?

"Isshin I can't help you out if you don't tell me what's wrong"

"Good point but I'll let you know when I need your help…okay old friend".

"Alright Isshin but do try and call me BEFORE it's too late"

Isshin chuckled, said his goodbyes to Kisuke and hung up, pondering the conversation he just had the lack of an answer was the most disturbing thing of all. Isshin absentmindedly looked at the clock noting it was a little past two in the morning, think of how long he had scoured the scene. Playing the whole evening over in his head again when he remembered something the Bluetooth and the backpack that Ichigo had before he left the house if Ichigo was coming back then he may have left a clue as to what the hell he was doing. Isshin quickly and quietly made way to Ichigo's room; once he was inside he glanced around to see if anything was out of place finding nothing abnormal he started in the most obvious place: under the bed. In the front he found things for the gym, a workout notebook filled with nothing but random set numbers, extra pre and post drink mix containers, and a gym bag which Isshin hurriedly grabbed and pulled to the center of the room and began to open it.

Once Isshin unzipped the bag and threw the flap open his eyes bulged and began watering as a stench reached his nose, so foul was the stench that Isshin gagged and sprinted for the bathroom and hurled. Once Isshin regained his composure he snatched a can of air freshener from the laundry room, and then headed back to the room where hosed the area then he took extra care to make sure and spray his son's bag. Once Isshin had properly searched the bag finding nothing of importance he looked under the bed finding nothing other than a single sticky note on the floor, on the note written in big bold letters was a message: WORKOUT CLOTHES YUZU DO NOT OPEN VERY **STINKY!**

Isshin face palmed realizing that the note had probably come off in his rush to get the bag open. After carrying the bag down to the laundry room he searched the boy's dresser which turned to be a bust as Isshin thought _this room and dresser are too neat and organized to be a boy's room I wonder if Ichigo has OCD._ Isshin's eyes fell on the closet and a demented smile spread across his face, he elected to go bottom to top as Isshin searched he found little interesting until he moved a pair of shoes and found a playboy his smile went pure evil as he pocketed the future blackmail material (complements of Kon). Bypassed the made bed that he guessed was for if Rukia ever came back, looked on the top shelf of the closet to find just a bunch of shoe boxes that looked like they hadn't been touched in months frowning disappointedly but grabbing a chair he still looked anyway he was rewarded with a box that was completely dust free and looked like it was open a lot his hands greedily seized the box tore it open and gaped at what he saw.

S_tart playing simple man performed by shinedown DO NOT READ FURTHER UNTIL YOU START PLAYING THAT SONG I AM SO SUPER CEREAL! _

Photos lots of photos ones of Ichigo and Tatsuki at the dojo, of him and Chad hanging out, pictures of Ichigo and all his school friends laughing together, ones with his friends from the soul society some of them happy some sad. Most had fingerprint smudges the ones that were the most popular were faded in some places one such was a picture of Ichigo hugging Rukia after Homura and Shizuku died another with him and Renji training with Yoruichi… both boys looking like they were ready to drop but Ichigo had a stubborn smile on his face it looked like he was taunting her. The next one was at the party on the beach with Ichigo and Yoruichi both covered in watermelon, Yoruichi had an arm around Ichigo with her head on his chest it looked like she was laughing too hard to stand on her own, but one look at his sons face and Isshin almost died laughing Ichigo looked like he was in heaven his face may have been laughing but his eyes were looking at her like a man who just found water after days in a desert _not who I would've picked for you to have a crush on son but good work_.

Still laughing Isshin continued to leaf through the photo with a bittersweet feeling here were the memories of his son of what was gone now… a sobering thought, _they say a picture is worth a thousand words but in this case I think they say ten-thousand about how the poor guy is doing now that it's all gone in his mind._ Feeling very somber Isshin prepared to put the box back when he heard a soft _thunk,_ curious he dug down to the bottom till he found a small picture frame with two small notes one old one fairly new… both tear stained. The picture frame contained a small photo of a young Ichigo and Masaki in a photo booth at a fairground, the photo was by far the most worn and faded photo of them all, the first note Isshin came to was the newer one he read Ichigo's scrawling print.

_Hey mom just wanted to talk… I remember that you used to say that big boys shouldn't cry, I can't say what I want to without sobbing like a little kid…so I'll just write, LOL already all misty-eyed dad would have a field day with this. I lost some friends recently from the soul society I gave up my ability to see and hang out with them doing what you always wanted me to do: protect others, Kami I miss them so much but they were worth protecting at any cost. I'm so sorry I didn't learn this lesson until it was too late to save you. I'll always regret not being strong enough to protect you when it mattered but I've learned since then I'm working on getting stronger so this kind of thing doesn't happen ever again and from wherever your watching from… someday I'll make you proud of me, I found something the other day while looking through some old crap I wanted to read it to you, call me selfish but I want to hang onto it you know for me to remember you by. We are all doing okay here mom so you don't have to worry, take care where you are at mom and I'll watch over the family for you love Ichigo._

Isshin was struggling to keep in control as he flipped over to the second note; it was dated the day before Masaki died. Isshin read the first two words and lost it pictures are worth a thousand words but the words of a seven year old written in a red crayon to a person the day before that all important person died was worth so much more, Isshin hurriedly stuffed the three items in the box and put it back as he muffled a choking sob while the two words played in his head: my mom. He was in such a hurry that he didn't notice the words on the front of the box: gone but not forgotten.

Isshin breathed out shakily as he staggered into the kitchen, then he grabbed a cup of coffee as he sat at the kitchen table he winced at the taste of the bitter brew wishing it was something stronger noting it was now five in the morning "well that went well Isshin ya' went snooping now you're all sad with a guilty conscience, didn't even find anything worth knowing… ya moron". Deciding to wait until his son came home he began reading the paper, clean the house or walk around the list became endless as he waited for Ichigo. When the twins woke up and got ready with Ichigo still absent Isshin lied to them and said he had got an early start. Now Isshin was worried it was two hours after school had started and still no Ichigo, he decided to call the school to see if he had shown up. Thankfully he had according to the teacher he had rushed in with seconds to spare, that at least relieved Isshin greatly at least Ichigo was still in town.

It was after school and Isshin was watching the road to the house waiting for Ichigo to show up, well over an hour after he was supposed to be home did Ichigo come walking towards the house looking even more haggard than before. Isshin quickly go into his gigai and got into the perfect ambush position: hiding above the front door, his prey walked through the door announcing his arrival the predator watched and waited for the perfect moment to STRIKE. As Isshin flew forward to his son he smiled victoriously as he thought Ichigo was distracted and that his strike would land, but as he neared his son whirled almost too fast for a human to follow but to a shinigami captain it was all too clear as the strawberry grabbed his fist and yanked the arm and the body behind it towards him. For Isshin time slowed to a standstill as he drifted towards his son, he appeared to be acting on instinct, as Isshin's head came into range Ichigo's head pulled back, locked and flew foreword._ Oh this is gonna suck _thought Isshin as his kids head drew near to his own he noted a scent on his son that he used to smell on himself: tobacco smoke. That was all the time he had to think as his world was soon alight with bone bending pain, as blood sprayed from his crushed nose and punctured lip Ichigo used the reverse momentum to push himself back while he extended his left hand in a punch that forced Isshin's gut back into his spine Ichigo followed through with blow and spun around extending his right leg in a devastating heel kick that when it connected Isshin felt the bones and teeth crack and break. As all the backwards momentum carried Isshin backwards over the dining room table, skipping over a countertop into the cupboard where he stopped, and Isshin's last thought was _damn not even Aizen's kicks hurt that bad _then he blacked out.

**A/N so sorry about the false update lol I accidentally chose the rough draft version so let's put that version from our heads shall we the next chap will be longer, again so sorry. **


	3. Chapter 3

Himitsu no akumu

DISCLAIMER: I own NOTHING.

Chapter three

Isshin woke up in one of the worst pains he could remember. Someone was franticly shaking him the person was saying…no shouting something what is it as Isshin managed to think through the pain the strange noises became words.

"Dad come on get up… that's it now you have to swallow this, it's your soul candy your hurt pretty bad but you have get into soul form where the worst you'll have is a small headache c'mon hurry".

As Isshin slowly pushed himself up with Ichigo's help he grabbed the proffered soul candy and swallowed it. Isshin's head cleared slightly as his gigai fell away, and got a good look at his face his eyes widened the front and left side was completely bruised and bleeding the left side of his face looked swollen beyond all repair. Isshin thought _I need to go to Kisuke to get this fixed, guess that video of him shadow boxing wasn't a gag like I thought._

He turned to face his eldest to find him squinting while swiveling his head, looking for Isshin _now's my chance to see if he has really been smoking _as Isshin leaned forward and sniffed his faced scrunched, the scent was gone there was nothing but the odor of the curry the school had served for lunch.

Apparently giving up on locating his father's spirit form Ichigo just sighed and stated "hey goat chin…look I'm sorry I was just acting on instinct I swear".

Isshin looked around and hobbled his way over to the counter _mild headache my ass I feel like I've got a migraine then got kicked by a horse_. Isshin grabbed the notepad off of the table, noticing Ichigo had yet to see the movement behind him so Isshin slapped the pad on the counter, Ichigo gasped and whirled around while dropping into a weird fighting stance with his left arm held out in front of him, his fingers spread out like claws pointed up at the ceiling and his right hand held horizontally in front of his chest in a fist. Isshin raised a brow as Ichigo noticed the pad the relaxed slightly, as Ichigo walked up Isshin scribbled 'you need to relax that's twice you've went hostile' Isshin hesitated then added 'are you ok'

Ichigo read the last part, scoffed and said "yeah I'm fine, I haven't been sleeping well and its put me on edge that's why I flipped out like that but I'm good… wish the same could be said for your gigai" he paused then added grudgingly "sorry"

Isshin couldn't pass on the opportunity to lighten his son's mood so he jotted down 'say no more of it my son now those were some fearsome attacks my lessons have paid off there is little I can teach you now my son, the woman your trying so hard to impress is lucky to have a strong man like you protecting her'.

Isshin watched on as in a nanosecond a plethora of emotions flew across his sons face first shock followed by a glimpse of embarrassment followed by a look of dejection, and fast on the formers tail was rage. That was all the warning Isshin got before Ichigo's fist reacquainted itself with his face sending him sprawling to floor, Isshin rolled into a crouch and stood wincing as the monster headache got even worse, he noted his son shouting to shut up before grabbing his fist and groaning in pain.

"Ouch that fucking hurt, what the hell is your skull made of Adamantium… wait I managed to hit you in soul form, does that mean my powers are coming back"? Isshin saw the look of desperate hope on Ichigo's face, Isshin hated to be the bearer of bad news.

'Sorry but that punch had no detectable reiatsu behind it' Isshin wrote and watched as Ichigo's face once again fell back into his usual scowl while rubbing his hurt fist.

"Damn oh well guess I should start cleaning this up while you take your gigai to get fixed".

Isshin nodded to himself and gathered his badly broken gigai, he began weaving a kido to hide his gigai from a normal humans view but to Isshin's annoyance he messed up the chant three times due his headache. When he completed his task he turned and watched as Ichigo quickly swept up the broken glass and wood splinters before picking up his gigai and walking out the front door.

Isshin moaned as the light assaulted his eyes exacerbating his madly throbbing head nearly making him barf from the pain and the steadily worsening dizziness, he staggered and dropped to one knee almost dropping his gigai in the process. _OUCH sweet Kami my freaking head I got to bum an aspirin off Kisuke when I get there, _steeling his resolve he picked himself up and stumbled onward through the pain and dizziness. Thirty minutes and several shunpo's that ended in a crash landing later Isshin laid eyes on his salvation, his light at the end of a long dark tunnel: the Urahara shop. 

When he knocked on the door Kisuke answered, "why hello and welcome to my humble…" Kisuke trailed off as eyes widened to the point of nearly falling out of his head as he took in Isshin's form and the mangled gigai hanging off his old friends shoulder.

"What in name of the soul king happened to you?"

To which Isshin muttered through his headache "I don't want to talk about it".

Kisuke clicked his tongue and stated "didn't I tell you not to take the twins to the zoo and get in fights with the wildlife, you better come on inside it looks like you hurt yourself pretty good".

After five minutes Kisuke came out of the back of the shop sat down and was silent for a good while before he said in a solemn tone "I've got Tessai fixing your gigai but Isshin I want you to listen closely, the gigai that you have was a very special one I created for you. Not only was that gigai designed to be stronger and faster than a normal human's body but it was also designed to take a ton of punishment in case you got attacked by a hollow that way after the battle you would have a body to come back to. Naturally with it being a prototype it wasn't as good as I would've hope for but it was still very durable… that one withstood an hour long pounding session from a rather strong man fueled by PCP, and armed with a hammer I might add without so much as a cracked tooth. Plenty of bruising but nothing serious, so want to tell me how something managed to nearly crush the skull on one side, knock out almost every tooth in the damn thing and rupture a whole mess of the lesser intestines, I would normally guess angry Yeti that at least is plausible… but then how would said Yeti sense you in soul form well enough to hit you again while mustering enough power to give a captain class shinigami a concussion with a shiner to boot without leaving even a spec of reiatsu behind. Sorry Isshin I have to call bullshit for the sake of logic".

Isshin had sat quietly throughout Kisuke's speech but it was the bit at the end that surprised him, "shiner, concussion what are you talking about?"

Kisuke merely held up a vanity mirror, in which Isshin saw that underneath his left eye he was sprouting a large purple bruise.

"As for the concussion I know because you're pale as a sheet, clearly nauseous, you are always slow on the uptake a trait you passed on to Ichigo but today its quite clear you're in a daze, you've been slurring your words unintentionally since you got here, and from where I'm sitting I can see that you pupils are dilated. Let me fix you up then you are going to tell me what happened".

As Kisuke worked Isshin mused _damn my kid managed to actually hurt me while in soul form and in some sort of super tough gigai… better make something up because Kisuke will never let me live it down if I tell him the truth. _Isshin wasn't given any time to think of anything to say before Kisuke announced that he had finished.

"Well Isshin are you going to tell me what happened? Please don't lie it's an insult to my intellect, also you should know that I double checked my sensors and I know that there wasn't any spiritual activity today".

Isshin had retold the story of the last few months down to the smallest detail, during the telling Kisuke had barely reacted except to frown when Isshin had called the group 'Ichigo's acquaintances'. When asked why he referred to them that way Isshin replied "I won't grant such a regal title like friends to those sniveling ill-begotten bastards, who seem to think they take advantage of a person then toss them away like… like a tissue. Those stupid pricks better hope they don't cross my path or I'll beat them so fierce that they'll wish that they're mamma had kept her damn legs closed. My boy should have real friends that won't abandon him when he's at his lowest."

Kisuke only shook his head and looked dismayed at Ichigo's plight, but he only motioned for Isshin to continue. When Isshin had finished he simply said in an aloof tone "so your son is acting weird, sneaking out at night then disappearing, so you decided to go at it on your own find out nothing. And he ends up beating the stuffing out of you, and until your drag your crushed gigai to my door you never thought that one of your oldest friends who happens to be a mad scientist might be able to help you track your wayward son".

Isshin grumbled "I know my brain was elsewhere but if we hurry we can catch him tonight if he does it again."

"No need old friend we're not cave men I can use a new thing called security cameras to track him".

The planning was cut short when a sweating Tessai walked in with the phone that was in Isshin's pocket and Isshin's gigai, he stated that he had answered and that it was Yuzu. As Isshin put the phone to his ear when a deafening screech caused Isshin to yank it away and wait for his daughter to stop yelling so loud when she had finally calmed down and explained the situation, apparently she found the playboy magazine in his lab coat while doing laundry which she had collected thinking it was dirty. For which he received a vicious scolding on how a man his age should act better than to look at dirty magazines like that.

After the telling-off was over Isshin hung up the phone and turned to see Kisuke with his fan in front of his face, "so… playboy, huh" he said in barely contained amusement.

"Shut it Mr. 'petite beauties', I wonder what Soi-fon would say if she knew that the photos of her in the shower were the crowning jewel of your stash… how much did you have to pay Yoruichi to take those", Isshin countered smugly.

Kisuke paled but didn't answer instead he sat Isshin down in front of a computer screen and asked the details on the time of departure then he began hacking local security cameras, the closest camera was only a block from the Kurosaki house. They watched for Ichigo as he went by, but as soon as he was about to walk in front of a security camera it instantly display a burst of static until Ichigo passed, it was the same situation all the way to the train station nothing could be seen until a few seconds after he disappeared.

"Well that's slightly disturbing" mono toned Kisuke.

Isshin on the other hand expressed his frustration with rant riddled with profanities, a grunt was his only response before the two of them hastened to the residence to find the almost exact situation that had happened the night before. also like before Ichigo had seemingly pulled a rather expensive looking Bluetooth spoke a few words, which Kisuke used an audio amplifier to record for later, Ichigo the grabbed the same old ratty backpack, threw on a hoodie, then dropped to the ground and proceeded to the train station with both men tailing him. Halfway on the way to the train station Kisuke grabbed Isshin's arm then pointed to Ichigo's backpack, Isshin followed his finger to see an ornate seal sewn on the flap.

"Okay what's that supposed to mean"?

"I'm not quite sure but I think I've seen that seal before a long time ago… I think it was shortly after I was exiled, I wish I could remember where or when I saw it" Kisuke stated clearly puzzled.

When they got to the station Ichigo stood in the corner shadows like before but this time a bloodcurdling scream distracted both men it was a child playing with his sibling both men whirled back around, but he had once again disappeared Kisuke turned to Isshin and said "I could've sworn I saw the wall move".

They once again began to search the area Isshin gave up first and went and sat in another corner Kisuke came back with a belt full of devices sat down heavily with a sigh before stating "there's nothing absolutely nothing sonar, infrared, devices couldn't come up with anything it's like there's nothing here on this wall this not supposed to be there. Also there is no anything to trace him by the fact that he's a walking device jammer I took pictures of the seal on his backpack to run it through my system later but when I looked at it, it looks like I took a picture of a blue screen. To hack my devices, get through all the firewalls that I personally set up to impenetrable all without my knowledge and delete all the photos is a level of tech that I was unaware existed…I wish I could figure this out".

(Time skip, because I'm lazy.)

An entire two weeks have gone by following this routine regardless of how hard they try not to look away there always seems to be a distraction right before Ichigo disappears, yesterday was the closest they got they saw the wall beginning to close but neither of them were fast enough to get in the space. Neither man could keep up the any longer investigation due to Isshin having to run the clinic and Kisuke was needed in the soul society in a few days for research on certain hollow movements, two had been debating for well into an hour when they decided to contact Yoruichi. Not only was she faster and a master of stealth and assassinations, but she was free to do missions with no obligations to the soul society. So Kisuke dialed the phone and she answered on the third ring.

"Hi this is Yoruichi, who am I speaking to"?

"It's Kisuke… I need a favor".

To which she chuckled and said "nope absolutely not, I will not try and hook you up with Soi-Fon she has to come to you on her own I'm not forcing her, I've already had a hell of a time talking her out of killing you when she figured out that those photo's weren't for me" at this she broke into hysterical laughter.

Kisuke paled considerably at the last part but a solid whack to the back of the head from Isshin got him back on track "Yoruichi… it's about Ichigo" he stated gravely.

All joy it was gone from her voice as she asked "what's wrong…KISUKE what the hell happened"?

The sheer desperation and fear in her voice caused Isshin to quirk an eyebrow and think _I wonder where the two of them stand with each other_.

"I can't discuss it right now maybe we could meet in person-".

Before he could finish the sentence she stated "I'll be right there and hung up".

**Yoruichi POV**

When Yoruichi hung up the phone she turned and pulled off her sleepwear and hurriedly put on her usual attire, this completed she left her room and tore through the squad two barracks until she made it outside. After a few minutes of frantic running she made it to the Senkaimon, nearly pounding the two guards into letting her through, as the minutes trickled by she became disappointed with her process so she began to flash step her thoughts running amuck. _Man look at me, I'm acting like a love struck teenage… wait a sec did I just say love, I mean I don't love him… I mean, how could I? He is like a kid and I'm … STILL VERY YOUNG AND HOT THANK YOU VERY MUCH._

Yoruichi doubted she would know what love felt like she had many boyfriends over the long years but no lovers as she had never been lucky with love. Contrary to the way she acted she wasn't a slut, over the long years with each man she had taken a chance on with each one being interested only in her family's money or in her body. Each false attempt had been revealed by her either refusing to sleep with them or by faking that the Shihouin were about to run out of money or influence, each suitor had quickly run off in a huff, even though she acted like the constant lack of interest in her as a person greatly discouraged her and she had spent many nights crying her ass off to Kisuke, he never judged her just stayed there making sure she was alright. But when she had revealed her position as a princess to Ichigo during the whole Kasumioji mess he stood there with a blank look on his for a few seconds until he quirked his eyebrow and crossed his arms his face practically screamed 'and…this is important because… oh come on this better be good I got things to do'. Thinking he hadn't quite heard her right she spent the next five minutes detailing exactly why she was an important person, much to her amazement he didn't act at all surprised he just shifted in place and stared at her with a rather bored expressions, then his face lit up and he smiled at her with the smile that she had dubbed his 'devil smile' and stated "oh is that what this is about, your worried that with all the noble crap that's going on that I won't want to hang out or be friends anymore, well don't worry just as long as you don't start acting like Byakuya we'll be just fine".

Although he had totally missed the point she was getting at it both relived and captivated by the fact that he didn't give a damn about her being rich and a noble, he only cared that she didn't start acting like acting stuck up. It was that brutal honesty that drew her to him, the only thing that worried her was the was the way he would cover his eyes and demand that she put clothes, although it was fun to play 'torture the virgin' with him it was still a blow to her pride when he wouldn't even look at her. What could she say she was damn sexy and she knew it, she had almost ripped Rangiku's eyes out when she had bragged about him peeking at her though his fingers,_ he never peeked at me damnit I know I was watching? _

_But I'm still too old for him with and now he can't even see me with those deep, caring, protective, sexy... whoa bad kitty, I mean brown eyes, damnit I'm Yoruichi Shihouin I don't chase guys they chase me, but I wonder what he thinks of me… probably as a teacher nothing more._

The thought disheartened her to no end, instead of focusing on it she quickened her pace once again as the cold claw of fear sunk deep in her heart, one thing worried her more than most: Kisuke was being serious when he said there was something going on with the one that she cared about. She prayed that he hadn't been attacked by a hollow without his powers _kami strawberry you had better be ok, because after I get done murdering the ones responsible for hurting my berry I'm going to kick your ass for making me worry. _

Yoruichi wasn't entirely sure when her feelings for the orange haired male had become confused. Oddly to her it started as a silent admiration during the assault on the soul society after witnessing his sheer will to protect that had led him to rush off and face down Byakuya while still injured. Then it became a strong friendship all throughout their adventures, then panic when she saw him lying broken on the ground at Yammy's feet, though it had hurt her arms and feet terribly she made sure to give the bastard the ass kicking of his life. Then that day at the beach _dear Kami I'm glad my skin is dark otherwise I'm sure somebody would have seen my blush, those damn eyes of his, the feeling of safety in his arms; his smell I bet he still hasn't figured out why I always chose to ride on his shoulders while in cat form… or that sexy as fuck smile. Damnit my throat went dry again…well at least I know where it all went. _

Then a disturbing thought made its way past all of her mischievous thoughts and memories, _what if Ichigo really isn't ok, what if a hollow from the winter war attacked him in revenge for taking out Aizen, or if a regular hollow devoured his soul… please Ichigo just be ok. _

Yoruichi pushed the chaotic thoughts aside for she had no more time to think as the end of the Senkaimon came into view,she controlled her features from them being desperate to just slightly anxious then slowed to a jog as she exited the Senkaimon. Yoruichi found herself in the training room, after looking around she saw Kisuke approaching.

"Well old friend when you said 'be right there' I didn't think you'd be here that quick" greeted Kisuke.

"Let me see him Kisuke" Yoruichi snapped, Kisuke's cheery tone grated on her already frazzled nerves.

"Well you see Yoruichi dear… I can't let you see him" as Kisuke's ever present fan made its appearance.

"WHY NOT" the poor fan didn't stand a chance as Yoruichi's fist plowed through it and into Kisuke's face, sending him flying backwards and onto a pile of rocks, before he could recover Yoruichi loomed over him, her reiatsu snapping around her causing Kisuke to cower in terror.

"YORUICHI please calm down, Ichigo is fine… his situation is a confusing but he is completely healthy" Isshin stated curtly, not wanting to incur her wrath unlike Kisuke, Isshin had sensed her unease before she had left the Senkaimon and had decided not to fool around.

"You mean that he's fine, not hurt at all" asked Yoruichi a glimmer of relief and hope making itself known.

"Yep" said Isshin, he winced as he saw her face go from intense relief to royally pissed.

"So this idiot worried me, and made it seem worse than it was" continued Yoruichi?

"Yep" grunted Isshin already backing away from the clearly irate female.

Yoruichi knew that she was acting overly emotional about the whole scenario but at the moment she just didn't give a crap, all of the pent up fear and anxiety caused by her desperation over her undecided crush came pouring out in the relaxing form of kicking the living hell out of Kisuke. Twenty minutes later when her rage was sated, she turned to the recently arrived Tessai while motioning for him to heal Kisuke before speaking over her shoulder to Isshin "when you and shit for brains are ready to talk I'll be upstairs I hear a nice cool glass of milk calling my name".

She didn't have to wait long before a snickering Isshin and an uncomfortable looking Kisuke, skulked into the dining room, after seating themselves as far as conversationally possible from her only then did Kisuke open his mouth to start speaking, but was interrupted by a firm "shut up now show of hands who knows more"? Her query was answered in the form of Isshin's raised hand, to which she ordered "alright then Isshin goes first, Kisuke chime in when needed or when you think he forgot something… don't leave anything out, I know that the both of you like to keep secrets so if I get the slightest feeling that one or both of you is hiding something I WILL torture BOTH of you until I feel that you have told me the truth… understood".

Both men nodded and Isshin started the narrative, starting with the beginning of Ichigo's strange behavior which at the time was assumed to be because of his being abandoned by those in the human world. Upon learning this Yoruichi gained a Kenpachi like grin stating that there were a few people she was 'dying' to see. With that unsettling incident out of the way the next pause in the narrative was when the pair reached the time of the security cameras, Kisuke had flagged her attention as Isshin was too busy talking about some small detail he had notice when Kisuke gave her a pointed stare then glanced at Isshin, who had yet to notice the others actions, then back at her meaning there was something that he didn't want Isshin to hear. In a short while the story was over, Yoruichi remained silent for a few minutes more than slightly disturbed at some of the news but nonetheless her playful nature came out.

"So… let me get this straight, Ichigo starts acting strange so you Mr. I'm Isshin and I'm a badass captain attack him, and get the shit beat out of you in a juggernaut gigai and in spirit form then he spends the next two weeks making you Mr. I'm a fucking genius and I'm definitely smarter than all of you put together Kisuke Urahara look like a retard".

Noting the aggravated looks on both faces she continued, not waiting for their response she pumped her arms in the air and uttered an elated cry of "THAT'S MY STRAWBERRY KNOCK EM' DOWN A PEG"!

Both men may have huffed at the damage to their pride but they noticed what she had said in particular a moment ago a couple of malicious grins was all it took to communicate that there would be plenty of gossip later.

With her smug happiness slightly fading she turned to the two and asked "when the two of you were following him to where you say the wall moved at how far away from him were you"?

"About ten or fifteen feet…why" asked Isshin?

Sighing heavily Yoruichi stood and slowly, sensually sashayed towards Isshin and Kisuke while crossing her arms underneath her rather large chest, dropping her voice into a low purr "because when you are following a person who can't see you and is known to be very slippery… you have to get close… so very, very close almost until your cozied up in their lap".

As she said this she had dropped into a crawling position and had almost crawled into Isshin's lap when the strain became too much for the poor man, as he jetted out of the room propelled by a massive nose bleed. Casually turning her head to face a still heavily blushing Kisuke she asked "so what was it that you wanted to tell me but couldn't say in front of Isshin"?

It took Kisuke a few seconds of sputtering before he was able to regain his composure enough to say "what I didn't tell Isshin was that shortly after Ichigo lost his powers, I placed tracers and set analyzers as well as reiatsu detectors so that I could keep a closer eye on him just in case anything should happen. But until Isshin showed up looking like a punching bag I had yet to see anything amiss, but the night after I witnessed his disappearance I went to look at the readings and data, I found out something rather disconcerting… all files and data on Ichigo had disappeared. Not just the ones from after he lost his powers but all of the ones going all the way back to when Rukia first showed up, and no matter how hard I try I can't find record of them being deleted… only that it looks like they never existed in the first place. As if that isn't bad enough but none of my sensors or coms work in a hundred foot radius around him but whatever is doing it doesn't seem to affect civilian equipment… just ones that are trying to look at him. When I sent an email to the head of the surveillance camera company posed as a security guard, to ask what was wrong with the cameras… it wasn't the head of the company that responded it was the director of the Public Security Agency stating that what was happening was a matter of national security and if I didn't want to risk 'termination' that I should cease and desist any and all questions …I don't know what type of trouble Ichigo's gotten himself into now but its serious".

Yoruichi's eyes had been steadily getting wider as Kisuke went but when he finished her face dropped into a scowl much like Ichigo's _I don't care what trouble he's in I'll get him through it like a good friend not like the other cowards who left him behind… but after it's all said and done he'll own me a date and a damn good explanation... maybe even more depending on the type of trouble he's in. I wonder what I should ask for. _

She was jolted out of her thoughts as Kisuke said "well Yoruichi are you just going to sit there or are you going to save our hero from himself"

Yoruichi chuckled and replied "ya know I think I will save him… sounds like a good vacation from the soul society, tell Isshin that when I find anything I'll let him know". Not waiting for his reply she turned and rushed out of the building in a hurry to see her friend and student after what felt like forever, as she flashed stepped away she remained blissfully ignorant of two figures back at the shop who finally had their chance to gossip.

"It looks like they both got it bad… I wonder if they have any idea" snickered out Isshin.

"Giving how stubborn they both are, and both of their experience in these matters, I'd say they haven't a damn clue what they're doing".

"And you're ok with this… I thought you had a thing for her, I mean she is an attractive woman" Isshin asked hesitantly.

"How do you and Kukaku stand cause ya' know that she's got a smoking hot body" Kisuke replied flatly.

"Dude… yuck, that's my sister what the hell are you thinking" Isshin exclaimed, revolted at the thought.

"It's the same with Yoruichi and I she is like my bossy, kick ass little sister. And whatever happens between those two I hope Ichigo doesn't treat her like most other guys because I doubt he knows how lucky he is, because weather she knows or not she unlocked her heart and let him in something that hasn't happen in so long. But most of all I hope they end up happy… happy to together and safe" uttered Kisuke.

Back with Yoruichi as she flash stepped across the town loving the feeling of wind in her face, and if she knew Ichigo then there was a badass adventure on the horizon. When she reached his house he had just walked in the door after school, instant relief flooded her she had missed him terribly and just seeing him again was strangely comforting. But as comforting it was the feeling was soon lost to worry as she got a better look at him, his face was pale with bloodshot eyes and dark bags under his eyes it was clear something was keeping him from sleeping enough. He looked like the only thing keeping him from falling flat on his face was his stubbornness, as Ichigo rubbed his face and sighed grumbling under his breath before looking at his watch then away. Then his face lit up and he once again looked at his watch before pumping both fist into the air and yelling "YES, three days off".

Ichigo practically danced through the house while singing in perfect English " I don't have to be me till Monday, Friday Saturday, Sunday I ain't gonna face reality". As he sang he made his way towards the bathroom shutting the door before Yoruichi could get inside, dismissing it as him relieving himself she just shrugged and looked around his house with interest as she had never been inside but when the sound of the shower starting kissed her ears, her eyes widened and a naughty smile split her face as she raced back to the bathroom. But once her hand touched the handle an internal battle was waged inside her between desire and morality, but Yoruichi Shihouin could never be called a very moral woman _fuck it he's seen me naked before so this is just making it even _she decided before quietly turning the handle and opening the door a crack and was satisfied to see that he was already in the shower. She crept in using all her skills to not make a sound, she slowly stood on top of the toilet and looked down before gasping at what she saw.

_Oh damn if he could see me I'd tap that right the fuck now _thought Yoruichi as she drooled while ogling Ichigo… well the parts of him she could see through the already forming steam, his slightly longer than before orange hair flowed down to sculpted traps to his large shoulders which were perfectly rounded down to rippling biceps and triceps in between all the sexy flesh was a large set of square shaped pecs and a bulging eight pack. Yoruichi wouldn't believe it if he wasn't in front of her very eyes, somehow in those few months he had gone from an attractive young male to a fucking god in the flesh, it looked like someone had taken him and stuffed as much muscle into his body as possible without making him unbalanced, if he wanted to he could be a very successful model, his body seemed to not have an ounce of fat on it every muscle strained against his skin as if trying to escape its confines. Yoruichi's mouth went dry and a blistering heat settled at the fork of her legs, as she began panting in need of relief when Ichigo began to pivot unknowingly giving her a hell of a show. _Oh sweet Kami those abs… I know where I'm coming on laundry day, and when I feel the need to do shots, those pecs hmmm_ _oh boy those arms, fucking perfect wow those shoulders and that sexy tattoo… wait what. _

It seemed that as Yoruichi was lusting away Ichigo had turned giving her a perfect view of his back on which was a tattoo in the shape of a mainly eastern style dragon with some western influence placed mainly on the right side of his upper back. Done in an ink that was the deepest color of black she had ever seen, the dragon had a serpentine look that was slightly altered to look more man shaped with broad armored limbs, it had no wings with its arms thrown apart with its head tossed towards Ichigo's left side roaring savagely while spewing flames down the left side of his back. The flame was in a winding and curling tribal style that ever so often broke apart making the flames segmented, adding to the intricacy of the tattoo, the flame pattern covered most of the left side of his back until it wrapped around and ended at his left love handle the tattoo unnerved her, in a way it seemed like it was alive at one point she swore it looked right at her. But her surprises didn't end there when he turned again she gasped during her lusting she had apparently not seen the three rows of strange symbols that ran vertically down his right love handle or the seal that Kisuke had said was on his backpack was also tattooed on his muscular right arm, all his tattoos were done in typical black. _Isshin never said anything about tattoos so that means he doesn't know, oh man is he going to flip… although I admit they do look sexy as fuck on him I might just keep them a secret in return for some… interesting photos. Whoa bad kitty calm down, remember he's just a kid, good looking kid though._

With that thought Yoruichi returned to her peeping shifting hoping to get a closer look at certain things that were hidden by the steam, then much to her alarm he shut the water off and turned reached right for her, after the second of panic she realized that he wasn't reaching for her, he was reaching for his towel which was hanging next to her. After he had wrapped himself in the towel and stepped out pausing to wipe off the mirror, after looking for a few seconds he sighed at his tired appearance before he seemingly noticed his tattoos, "ah damnit the crap came off early… oh well I was planning on being lazy and camping out in my room anyway" said Ichigo in a resigned tone of voice.

Ichigo once again rubbed his face and opened the bathroom door with a dreamy eyed Yoruichi following close behind, Yoruichi's fantasies were interrupted as Ichigo swore violently and spun around and dashed into the bathroom slamming the door behind him only to come out a minute later, and much to Yoruichi's annoyance he was fully clothed in a tight fitting tank and cargo shorts. It wasn't covering much but to her it was far too much, Ichigo walked slowly back to his room after closing his door right behind him he grabbed his iPod and plugged it into his speakers. Yoruichi paid close attention to the band he selected: a band called Arch Enemy, after scrolling through he found the track that he apparently wanted a song named 'war eternal' but when the music video began playing and a rather attractive girl was shown on stage, something spiked in Yoruichi's chest _so this is what you like berry head a skinny ass blue haired wuss head banging and screaming like a maniac… I bet that bitch cant flash step ten miles in one go or kick hard enough to send a menos flying _she thought angrily as she watched her former pupil head bang in time with the frantic beat of 'the bitch's' (as Yoruichi had dubbed her) music.

Her jealous thoughts and the music continued for quite a while until both were interrupted by an annoying beeping that was barely able to be heard over the music, Ichigo paused the music and reached over to the side of his bed right by his pillow his fingers pulled at a near invisible seem, after reaching inside his hand came back with the expensive looking Bluetooth that she had heard about after placing it into his ear and pressing the answer button, a voice muttered something nearly inaudible.

"This is delta-337, go ahead…what, oh come on are you serious this is supposed to be my weekend off, you know the one that I worked for over a month straight to get…ok but I better not have any restrictions… then tell them I said 'fuck your rules'". With that Ichigo hung up, without knowing that he had caused his former mentor to burst out laughing _'fuck your rules' ah now that's the berry I know, at least with whatever trouble he's in that part of him still hasn't changed. _

As Ichigo reached under his bed and grabbed his backpack, pulled out the hoodie all the while grumbling petulantly "god fucking damnit, this was supposed to be my weekend… I was going to be lazy, like super lazy… hell I was going to take naps".

To a regular person naps might not seem like an important thing but Yoruichi was sure that to her clearly sleep deprived student, naps had become a matter of life and death. She watched as he readied himself then as predicted he opened the window, hung onto the windowsill while closing his window, not before Yoruichi had jumped out though she watch from the ground as Ichigo dropped to the ground with cat like grace then began walking. She watched him closely as he placed a set of sunglasses on his face, she made sure to stay less than a yard away from him when a child's cry of fear interrupted her concentration her head inadvertently turned and saw a group of three boy beating a small girl one of them going so far as to bounce a ball off her while the girl curled into a fetal position and wept, Yoruichi's eyes narrowed in disapproval as much as she wanted to help she couldn't she was on a mission. Her head swiveled to find that her uncertain crush wasn't where he was before, she whirled her head frantically searching for him only to find that he was stalking towards the group cracking his knuckles and looking rather pissed off.

When Ichigo reached the group he simply reached out and snagged all three boys by the back of their shirts and hefted them into the air while turning them so that he could look them in the eyes, all the boys looked like they had been about to say something rude but upon seeing Ichigo's face they all grew quiet except for the one in the middle who whispered "its Tora-san" with a voice laced either what could only be described as complete terror. Ichigo looked at each boy in turn before looking down at his feet, with surprising balance Ichigo stooped while holding the now terrified bullies up and grabbed the dropped ball before asking "is this yours"?

The boys nodded, Ichigo merely held out the ball and squeezed it until it popped in his hands, faking surprise Ichigo turned to the boys and in a scary sweet tone stated "oh me oh my, how clumsy of me I seem to have broken your toy… but no worries it looks like you were prepared and brought along a spare, here let me try again".

With that Ichigo reached out and grabbed the middle boy by his head and gave a slight squeeze, drawing a terrified yelp from the boy and hysterical sobs from his friends. Ichigo opened his mouth to say something but something grabbed his calf, he looked down and saw the little girl burring her face into his leg and sobbing for a few seconds before looking up at Ichigo with tear stained cheeks and watering green eyes before sobbing out " please don't pop their heads Tora-kun, they didn't mean it".

Ichigo watched as the little girl pressed her tiny face back into his leg and continued sobbing, and as if it had never been there his sadistic streak melted away and was replaced with the kind, caring face of a big brother. Yoruichi had seen him use the same face with his sisters and it never failed to make her swoon, by then Ichigo had turned back to the hysterical boys, stretched out his arm and dropped them on their butts then he became serious again "well she changed my mind, I won't crush your skulls today but try that again with her or anybody and it will change my mind for good… now scram" growled Ichigo in a rather savage tone.

The boys didn't need to be told twice they all got on their knees and thanked the little girl for sparing them then they tucked tail and ran for their lives, Ichigo let out a heavy sigh before turning back to the upset little who had calmed somewhat then he squatted down until he was eye to eye with the small girl who wouldn't look back at him seemingly ashamed. Ichigo gently lifted her chin until she looked him in the eyes upon which she immediately broke down and crawled into his arms sobbing, Ichigo held her there until it seemed that she was all done, then Ichigo held her out and began cleaning off her face with the sleeve of his hoodie taking care to get all the tears and dirt, while she told him what had happened in between sniffles. It seemed that she had approached the boys while they were playing ball and asked them if she could play… to disastrous results. By this point Ichigo had finished gently cleaning her face and checking for any injuries, not finding any he reached into his pocket and pulled out a tissue and offered it to her saying "here little one blow your nose… atta-girl, now Yuma you have to be more careful who you try and play with, ok now let's get your stuff and find your mother".

As he finished talking he picked the recently named Yuma up and placed her on his shoulders, much to the little girls squealing delight after she had pointed him in the direction of her things and dropped off his shoulders long enough to grab her little backpack then climb back up to her perch, then point him in the direction of her mom while she was up on his shoulders she asked "Tora-kun can you play tonight"?

"I wish I could sweetie but I have to get to work, but don't worry we both have tomorrow morning free of school so I will be able to play with you then". At this Yuma let out an overjoyed shout drawing the attention of a woman who looked to be frantically searching for something, when the woman in question saw it was her daughter on what looked to be a strange man's shoulders she began sprinting at the pair.

Seeing her approach Ichigo grabbed Yuma and set her on her feet as he rose to wave at the obviously panicking mother the little girl tugged on Ichigo pant leg, then stuck out her tiny right hand with her pinky outstretched before quietly asking "pinky promise… pinky promise that you'll play with me tomorrow"?

Ichigo flashed her a grin as he bent over holding out his pinky and hooked it with hers and said "I pinky promise… but are you sure you want to play with somebody who has weird hair like mine". He leaned in and whispered "you know some people might think it's weird".

By this point the frantic mother seemed to recognize Ichigo and had slowed to a jog, watching as her daughter laughed and answered "I don't care about that Tora-kun, besides I think your hair looks yummy".

Ichigo's eyes widened comically before he laughed at her remark and tussled her hair, during this heartwarming scene Yoruichi sighed and chewed on the tip of her thumb while thinking that Ichigo would make a great father. By then the mother had made to them and had scooped up her daughter, before demanding to know what had happened and where she had been, the little girl retold the whole story while pointing at Ichigo who was trying to sneak away. But before he could manage to get away the mother stood and said to him "well it seems that twice that you've rescued my little girl, my thanks Tora-san… it's a shame everybody talks about you like you're some type of demon but you are actually an angel".

Ichigo laughed and replied "it was nothing Sukuma-san, but please don't tell everyone about the whole 'angel' thing I've got a reputation to keep" Ichigo joked.

The mother smiled and moved closer to Ichigo, a lot closer than Yoruichi was comfortable with then said in a sensual tone "it's not nothing Tora-kun if there's anything you need or want and I do mean _anything _please come see me, my door is _always_ open".

_That bitch… how dare she Ichigo is my, my… my student, yeah my student and I WILL NOT allow him to go running around with some whore… well go on Ichigo show her that famous blushing and stuttering that you do. _As Yoruichi fumed silently waiting for him to act like he always did, much to her annoyance when he didn't even blink.

In fact he didn't even shy away from her like he did around Yoruichi, he just stood there still smiling and said "thank you for the offer Sukuma-Chan I'll remember that… as much as I would love to sit and talk I unfortunately have to leave for work, have a great day Sukuma-Chan".

"Ah yes well you have a wonderful day as well Tora-kun, but do remember my offer" stated Sukuma with a slight blush as she watched Ichigo nod and walk away with a dreamy eyed stare, if she had been spiritually aware she would have seen a spitting mad Yoruichi flipping her the bird while stomping after Ichigo.

After Ichigo and by default Yoruichi were out of earshot, Yuma looked up at her mother and asked "mommy why do act strange when you are around Tora-kun"?

The mother sighed and spoke sagely to her daughter "let me teach you a lesson I learned too late: when you are older and you meet a man who has an amazing body, great with kids, has a job and always is a gentleman… do whatever the hell you can to get him because finding a guy like that is like finding a needle in a sea of hay". With that the mother sighed grabbed her daughter and began walking back to her house.

Back with Yoruichi who was still furious _c-c-c-chan, chan so he calls her chan but to the girl who saved his life countless times, taught him how to master his bankai and constantly flirts with him, with her he can't even get past san, Kami this is such bullshit. _Her anger was only made worse when Ichigo put a hand on his chin while forming a thoughtful look on his face before saying "man what a nice lady, I'll bet there is a happy man that has her".

"DAMNIT" shrieked Yoruichi while bashing her head against a nearby lamp post, she just couldn't win today _keep walking Ichigo before I claw your face off. _

As they neared the train station Yoruichi had calmed slightly and was no longer considering murder and maiming as reasonable options, but instead had resolved that when this whole mess was over she and the strawberry were going to have a nice long chat about certain aspects of his behavior. As Ichigo neared the spot that she had been warned about Yoruichi tensed and followed close enough that she risked stepping on his feet. When they got in the shadows Yoruichi waited, then she felt the floor move then the wall Ichigo was leaning on fell inwards revealing a ramp that Ichigo fell into as the floor had also disappeared beneath him. As he vanished into the hole in the ground Yoruichi flashed forward… but too late as the mass of cement was already rushing towards her aiming to cut her in half as she passed through. Yoruichi closed her eyes and held her breath as she waited, waited for the pain but astonishingly none came, when she looked the wall had wedged itself on something that gave her the extra second to get through and slide down the ramp.

Yoruichi couldn't tell how fast she was moving but she could tell that she definitely wasn't moving slowly, then Yoruichi let out a rather feminine squeal as she felt weightless as became airborne looking below her she saw what looked like an endless pit and a small walk way right next to it. As time slowed to a near standstill for her, she couldn't for the life of her find a safe way down, now certain of her demise she fought her incoming panic and … then she saw it, her lifeline and savior, a skinny metal beam that hung from the roof at such an angle that if she slid down it, it would allow her to land on the walk way below. Given her delayed time on seeing the beam she barely grabbed it at the last second and slid down it, then she caught a glimpse of Ichigo further down the pipe almost to the end of it, she watched in awe as he effortlessly let go of the end of the beam, flipped over until his feet were facing the ground then he hit the walk way feet first. The force of his impact caused his knees to buckle under him, ending up in an almost crouching position as his momentum carried him skidding forward and at the end of his skid Ichigo pushed up with his legs so that when his momentum ran out he was in a standing position and simply walking away like some type of boss. It was then that Yoruichi realized to late that she too had come to the end of the beam and with little time to prepare the only thing she manage to do was get her feet in the right direction, but that only bought was a split second of skidding on her feet before the force of her skid kicked her feet out from underneath her and she ended up skidding some of the way on her forehead… until her forehead hit an unidentified object that forced her into an end over end roll until she finally ran out of momentum and ended up in an undignified heap of twitching limbs not far behind the orange headed male. For a few seconds silence reigned on the walk way until it was broken by a small whimper of "ouch…I think I landed on a boob".

As Yoruichi struggled to push herself upright she checked for damage, there was bumps and bruises everywhere but thankfully no broken bones the worst of the damage was suffered by her pride, a wound so bad that she feared it wouldn't heal. _At least you got through the door something the guys couldn't do… so there is that _stated her inner voice. Yoruichi looked herself over then weakly pumped her fist in the air and not even half-heartedly cheered "woo, yeah, victory, go me-ouch". As one of her many aches chose that moment to protest her movement, groaning Yoruichi forced herself to stand up and follow after Ichigo who hadn't gone very far only a few yards to a small closet like room in which he had already stored his hoodie and shorts. He had since put on a pair of desert camouflage cargo pants that were held up by a belt that held a massive amount of pouches, from one of these pouches Ichigo pulled out a pack of cigarettes then he lit one with a lighter from another pouch then he took a hearty pull before sighing and exhaling the smoke. "And here I thought that I was going to have to go three whole days without these… thank heaven for little miracles", Ichigo spoke to no one in particular while Yoruichi frowned it seemed Isshin's fears were true he had been smoking. She didn't think badly of the habit…hell she had even done it for a short time, after all her time hanging around Kukaku the one armed woman had convinced to try it as a way to relive the stress from being a princess and the commander of the stealth force. So she had done it, it was very addicting and it took her three years to finally kick it, what had finally done it for her was how hard it made running which as the goddess of flash and stealth force commander she had to do more than her fair share. So when she saw her protégé puffing away on a cancer stick she merely frowned unhappy that a guy with so much promise would make such a harmful decision.

By this point Ichigo had finished his smoke and had reached back into the closet and pulled what looked to be some type of harness out, after slipping his arms into two of the loops and fastening the four clips on each end to the hooks on his belt Yoruichi could clearly see it was a dual shoulder carry pistol holster but where were the pistols? Her answer came when Ichigo reach both hands into the closet and pulled out two large silver revolvers with strange black engravings on the barrels each gun had a different word on the side but the flame patterns were the same on either gun, it was clear from just a glance that these weapons were used hard but were extremely well cared for, if the loving caresses he was giving them were any indication after holding one gun cylinder up to each ear and working each hammer six times Ichigo grinned apparently satisfied by something. He then put both guns into his left hand before pressing an unseen button causing both guns to snap open, ready to be loaded after using two speed loaders to fill the guns he holstered then and double checked that they were secure before reaching into the closet once more and pulling out what looked to be a large knife with a large cross guard and black leather wrapped handle with a strange skull on the end, he then clipped the blade horizontally across his lower back. He closed the door, locked it with a five digit code and continued to walk down the hallway with a badly limping Yoruichi right behind him, they walked through the dark corridor for a long while making Yoruichi wonder how the hell Ichigo was able to see anything behind those sunglasses he had on even with her cat like senses she could barely see where she was going. She wasn't to surprised when she almost walked head first in a large set of double doors that Ichigo had seen coming long before she did what surprised and worried her was when Ichigo suddenly slumped against the wall taking deep breaths and rubbing his temples.

_How long has this poor man been going without proper rest?_ Wondered Yoruichi as the exhaustion that was there before had become almost too clear to see as he sat against the wall almost dead on his feet, her overwhelming concern had her reaching out to touch him when he suddenly shook his head and forced himself to stand up, popping another smoke into his mouth and lighting it "come on kid quit your bitching and stand up… kick those damn heels off and rise to the challenge ya pussy".

Yoruichi raised an eyebrow at Ichigo's way of self-motivating, but it nonetheless did the trick as Ichigo managed to stand up straight and square his shoulders, nodded satisfied before murmuring to himself once again "that's better soldier, now put your damn game face on". With that Ichigo adjusted his sunglasses to cover the dark bags under his eyes took one more pull off his cigarette, then hardened his features into a serious mask, not as extreme as his usual scowl but a mask that looked like it belonged on the face of a leader, Ichigo once again squared his shoulders and then pushed the doors open.

After her eyes had adjusted to the light that had been admitted by the doors opening, for the third time that day Yoruichi stood dumbstruck at the sight before her. It was an underground war base complete with fighter jets, helicopters, tanks, all different manner of Humvees, only that each vehicle seemed far more advanced than what in her opinion a military should look like some of the weapons and devices looked futuristic alien almost. By the time Yoruichi had managed to close her mouth and looked around for Ichigo he was twenty yards away, while she jogged/limped to catch up she noted Ichigo walking with a swagger that gave off an air of invulnerability adding to his badass look. As they moved forward Yoruichi watched on in amazement as multiple personal bustled around doing many tasks, it was an impressive sight as most were clothed in mostly the same outfits the only thing that made them different aside from their rank patches was the flags sewn into their chests that openly declared what country each individual was from. But no matter what country was sewn onto their chest as soon as the person noticed Ichigo, he was greeted with a bow or a hasty salute, Ichigo's gaze may have stayed facing in the direction he was walking never turning to either side but when someone bowed or saluted the person received a small nod or a short bark of "at ease"

It was clear to Yoruichi that many looked at him with admiration or respect, but the vast majority looked at him in fear. Yoruichi could not only see the sheer terror on the soldiers faces as he walked by but her heightened sense of smell due to her cat side caused her nosed to crinkle in disgust at the heavy feeling of the smell that the humans were giving off, _I wonder what he did to make this many people that afraid of him. _Her thoughts were interrupted at the sound of a helicopter approaching, Ichigo turned his head slightly to inspect the battered but high-tech looking bird before lifting his head and sniffing the air like an animal, the corners of his mouth lifted in a slight smile and diverting his course towards the landing zone. By the time he arrived the chopper had landed and its passengers had unloaded, the squad of soldiers were dressed in in heavy red battle gear all were cover in blood, dust, and all different kinds of grime. As she got closer Yoruichi could tell that the whole squad looked exhausted, but still had their sprits about them as they joked and bantered back and forth, until Ichigo cleared his throat and yelled out "Devil squad", in a tone that was eerily like that of the captain commander while he was giving orders.

The first to respond was a tall muscular woman with buzz cut red hair who glanced quickly at Ichigo before rolling to her feet while calling out in English with a heavy European accent "shit, commander on deck"! The squad immediately followed suite then they snapped at attention with parade ready salutes.

"At ease soldiers", Ichigo rumbled out his voice heavy with authority, he waited until they had all dropped the salutes and took on a more relaxed stance before continuing in once again in English.

"Alright listen up chicks and dicks of the crimson devils my reports have shown an extraordinary amount of effort by this squad to pick up any and all slack in operations caused by my absence, to such a degree that it seems that you crazy motherfuckers haven't had any rest in four straight days. This leads me to two facts, number one: you are all doing an amazing job and my letter of commendation will be in front of the council at the end of today, number two: you all look and smell like hammered shit. Be that as it may I have new orders for you that are to be followed to the letter, first I want you to refit and refuel that bird, and then I want you to rearm yourselves and proceed to the shower room where you will scrub yourselves so good it will make your mothers proud. When those tasks are completed you will move to your bunks and hold that damn position until each and every one of you is sure that you have caught up on your missed sleep… with interest. Then your orders are to move to the bar at the northern corner of this base and enjoy some drinks on me, then take three days with no missions and take care of anything personal you've earned it... do you understand me"?

"SIR, YES, SIR", the squad shouted out, before enthusiastically continuing on with that tasks they were doing before, Yoruichi stood captivated she might not have a damn clue what was going on but it still amazed her that in all the time that Ichigo and her had spent together that she had never seen him act like this, a commanding officer with a gruff but compassionate way about him, making her wonder just what other sides he also had hidden away.

Seeing that they were already lost in planning what to do on their days off Ichigo turned and walked off in the direction he had been going before while pulling out a new smoke and lighting it. They walked on in much the same manner as before until they reached another set of double doors where he tossed his cigarette butt into a bucket of sand placed close by the door, Ichigo then placed his hand on a panel and waited for it to finish scanning. Once the scanning was completed he opened the doors to reveal a long hallway of what looked like offices, they proceed down the hallway and through many different turns until they reached what looked to be a large reception area, Ichigo stopped for a second at one of the end tables to grab a magazine and waved at the obviously drooling secretary before turning and making his way to a solid black door with the same seal drawn in gold paint, the other times Yoruichi had seen the seal they were badly faded or too far away to see clearly so she took a second to actually get a good look at it. Within a large circle was an image of the earth and in front of that was a stylized griffin, the griffin was standing like a man with arms and wings spread out like a living shield, the beast was dressed in armor similar to a mid-evil tower knight its wings had each individual feather replaced with an assortment of swords, spears and axes, at the top of the circle in cursive was written 'Sanguine Nostro' and at the bottom in bold letters 'Asgard Tuae Iugiter'.

Yoruichi was no more time to inspect the symbol as Ichigo opened the door and entered into a well-furnished office, Yoruichi barely made it into the room before looking around, the walls were lined with pitch black filling cabinets with a matching wardrobe directly behind a medium sized cherry wood desk that sat atop wall to wall Persian carpet, the walls were a light cream color with an ornate crystal chandelier hanging from a ceiling decorated with mural depicting a scene from Shakespeare's a mid-summer nights dream . _Damn Ichigo this is a damn fine looking office that I bet five bucks you had nothing to do with the decorating_ _of_ though Yoruichi with a giggle as she watched Ichigo adjust the knife on his back before sitting at the desk putting the magazine down next to a computer mouse then press a button on the keyboard prompting a holographic computer screen to appear. Ichigo clicked on an obscure icon that seemed to be a type of instant messenger cracked his knuckles and began typing, his fingers quickly becoming a blur across the keyboard Yoruichi guessed that he was typing roughly one hundred words a minute or more, his typing continued uninterrupted for a few minutes it seemed like he was writing out the letter that he had promised earlier then suddenly a loud noise startled both of them.

"YAY ICHIGO, ICHI, ICHI HE'S OUR MAN IF HE CAN'T DO IT NO ONE CAN GO ICHI… DID YOU LIKE THAT ICHI I WORKED ON IT FOREVER, SO ITS ROOKIE DAY…" the offending sound caused both occupants of the room to nearly jump out of their skin the noise came from speakers all around the office while a hologram of a young girl with black hair holding pink pom-poms dressed in a white and blue cheerleading outfit popped out of a port in the desk, the figure started doing a strange dance after the cheer was done it began prattling on and on in the same high pitched voice.

Ichigo swore and grabbed his chest while panting in shock, after a few moments while the hologram continued to talk Ichigo moved his left hand to massage his temples while his right hand moved to the magazine where his fingers started doing a countdown, when the countdown was finished and the hologram was still talking Ichigo grabbed the magazine and reached for the port under the hologram.

The figure then pouted and whined "Ichi why are you being so mean to your little Holly bot… I thought you said I was your favorite…" the noise stopped as Ichigo grabbed a plastic lid and closed it placing the magazine on top.

"Ah thank Kami the sweet sound of silence", Ichigo groaned while Yoruichi who had yet to come down from her adrenaline rush could only nod in agreement.

With the annoyance dispersed Ichigo started typing again this time he wasn't interrupted for over an hour during which time Yoruichi had become bored and had sat on the edge of his desk and began to check on all her acquired pumps and bruises while she watched as Ichigo finished his letter and began filling out paperwork that was written in a language that she didn't understand though she did find it odd that in all this time he hadn't taken his sunglasses off. The interruption came in the form of loud knocking on his door, Ichigo reached over and pressed a button on his keyboard as he buzzed whoever was on the other side of the door, in walked the same red haired female from earlier only now she looked like she was fresh out of a shower wearing only a sports bra and boys basketball shorts. Now that she was out of her armor even Yoruichi had to admit that she had a good figure, she was quite muscled but still slender with teal colored eyes and slightly delicate looking pale skin.

"Chandler" Ichigo greeted in a tone that was a little too familiar for Yoruichi's tastes as he shut down the monitor and started to stand up, she may not have been ready to admit her jumbled feelings for him but that didn't mean she was going to let some other bitch try something before she had her shot. The now named Chandler motioned for Ichigo to stop standing as she reached over into a gap in-between two filling cabinets and pulled out a collapsible office chair and set it up on the opposite side of the desk before leaning back and crossing her bare feet and placing them on the edge of his desk then began to scrutinize Ichigo's face.

Ichigo also leaned back and interlaced his fingers, after a few moments of waiting for something out of the woman in front of him when none was forthcoming he shrugged and asked "well"?

"Take em' off" came the short but expectant reply as she waited still staring.

_Wait WHAT, _thought a startled Yoruichi but her heart leapt into her throat as Ichigo sighed heavily and raised his right hand towards the straps of the pistol harness and the neck of his tank, _whoa NO… stop hold everything don't touch anything mister, the clothes stay on or I WILL have that pretty orange scalp of yours. _Relief flooded her when his hand kept on moving on until it reached his glasses which he promptly removed and set on the desk then looked back at Chandler who stared for a few seconds taking in the dark circles under the bloodshot eyes with eyelids that were struggling to stay open. She then closed her eyes and shook her head dismayed before standing up and slowlywalking behind Ichigo and resting her chin on the top of his head, giggling slightly when he tensed slightly, and Chandler whispered "relax" her heavy European accent making it sound all the more seductive.

Ichigo's shoulders drooped as all resistance seemingly left leaving Chandler to whims, her hand slowly moved to each of the buckles that held his harness on once they were all undone she lightly nudged him to move forward and raise his arms when he did she quickly got rid of his harness, guns and knife setting them next to his glasses on the desk. Her hand moved back to his shoulders and guided his head and shoulders back to rest against her chest then she replaced her chin and for the next twenty minutes she slowly kneaded his shoulders and upper back he seemed to enjoy it, if his closed eyes and sighs were anything to go by her hands then moved to his arms tenderly rubbing out any and all tension from his scarred limbs. Chandlers moved her right arm down to sluggishly drag her middle finger over a particularly large scar that ran diagonally across the top of his forearm before dragging the blunt nail up to the middle of his upper arm where she used the pad on her finger to lovingly trace the shape of the tattoo placed there. The ministrations continued as she moved her hands from his arms to his chest and massaged the large muscles there, then both hands went lower almost to his belt line only to drag them back up lazily as her fingers traced the lines and ridges of his abdomen while making their way past his chest around and to his upper back where she once again lightly nudged him forward. He followed without hesitation as her hands dipped into the new territory, she didn't take very long on that area as she seemed to miss resting her head against his taking long enough to rub all over and place her palm in the center of his spine applying enough pressure to cause a series of pops. This drew a long, low satisfied moan from Ichigo, Chandler drew him into her once again leaning slightly more forward than before until he was fully leaned back against her right shoulder while she laid her head on his left shoulder, moving her hands up his neck over his jawline past his cheeks to his temples where she softly soothed the tension found there afterwards she wrapped one arm around his chest while dragging her free hand through his hair with the caring tenderness of a lover.

During the whole display Yoruichi stood still as a statue, it had been quite a long time since she had been able to see anything as her eyes were clouded with unshed tears. Her thoughts played three words on a continuous loop _no, Ichigo WHY._ Her arms were crossed over her chest trying to dull the agonizing pain that had made its home there, she drew in short rapid breaths that offered little to no oxygen, but it held back the sobs of despair that wanted to escape. _It's not fair I put everything into training him so he could survive against his enemies, picked him up when he was down… hell I acted like a complete slut took my clothes off for him flirted DID EVERYTHING just to get him to even LOOK at me. And now I find him in the arms of an overly muscled pale skinned bull dyke… FUCK, why? _

As Yoruichi turned to walk away as she just couldn't watch anymore did she hear Ichigo's deep voice, "thanks so much Chandler, your one hell of a friend".

At the word 'friend' Yoruichi whirled around she thought she heard him say friend and not 'girlfriend', she could only hope that it was the case. She wasn't mistaken as she watch the girls face soured slightly before speaking in as sweet tone as she could muster "not a problem… what are friends for anyways"? Chandler hadn't let go yet, it seemed that she wanted to make the moment last as long as possible.

Her moment didn't mean a damn thing to Yoruichi as she threw her head back, all hope renewed "YESSS", Yoruichi screamed while launching into a hip and ass shaking, head banging victory dance. She was so happy that she almost got on top of his desk and started twerking, _take that Ms. Touchy MY berry is still dense as a rock._

Chandler finally let go and walked back around to the front of the desk, Ichigo opened his eyes and strangely he look slightly better than he had before Yoruichi guess that she owed her for making sure that he was ok… but only a little. Oddly it was Ichigo who broke the pregnant silence "so how is your squad, do you think they need more time off… please answer honestly I can't lose one of my best teams to exhaustion"?

"They will be fine, most of them are already in their bunks… as you should be right now". Towards the end of her sentence Chandler's voice became commanding, though Yoruichi couldn't help but agree as he still look extremely sleep deprived.

"Don't you start handing me orders, you're not in your bunk as you were ordered… besides that the last time I let you order me around you stuffed me in this fancy as hell office with everything already decorated… and with a weird new chair" Ichigo countered bitterly looking around the office as if he was the only thing out of place before sighing and mumbling "I miss my old chair and office".

Chandlers face practically screamed 'the reason I'm not in MY bunk is I wanted to be in YOUR bunk', but she chuckled and said "but I put in the Shakespeare on the ceiling like you wanted, also your office should match up to your rank… and I wanted to make up for my rookie accidentally flying a chopper into your last office. On the subject of not following orders… I learned my good behavior from you".

Ichigo snorted and shot back "don't give me all the credit… though that was pretty traumatizing watching an attack helicopter come through the wall of my office and stop on top of my poor chair… not as bad as watching you drag the poor soul through the windscreen and beat the holy hell out of him while screaming 'you almost killed a commanding officer' I honestly felt bad for the kid after that ass kicking".

Chandler snickered before yawning and spoke "well I've had enough rebellion, I think I'm going to get some shut eye… see ya when my forced vacation is up, oh and let it go that your old as hell office chair got crushed besides your better off without that rickety old thing… seriously it didn't have any padding left so stop pouting".

As she got up and turned away Ichigo was already reaching for his sunglasses but when Chandler turned and spoke somberly he stopped and turned to look at her, "Ichigo… I want you to be careful, please don't do any of your crazy solo stunts… promise".

Ichigo snorted and grinned "oh come on Chand' you're overreacting I'm fine-", his sentence was cut short by a vehement retort.

"NO YOU'RE NOT, I can still see that your pale and those bags are a dead giveaway that you could drop at any second, and I know that you don't like taking time for your health but damnit you need to at least try…your squad can defend themselves so you don't need to take those desperate measures to protect them. I want you to just look at me and promise me that as my friend that you won't be reckless and that you will do your best to try and rest after the mission is over… damnit Ichigo nothing keeps me up at night more than the thought that my best friend might not come back from a mission."

Yoruichi watched torn as she didn't want his to promise another woman anything, but at the same time she didn't want him doing anything that would cause him harm. Ichigo finally spoke after a long pause while raising his hands in surrender "I promise that during the upcoming mission that I won't make any unnecessarily risky choices and I promise that as your friend that when the mission is complete I will do my personal best to get some rest".

Chandler nodded satisfied before leaving, Ichigo sighed and once again put on his sunglasses before scowling and grumbling "I wasn't pouting about my chair because it was comfortable, I was upset because I lost my reason for getting out of the office and out of paperwork… and I don't pout".

The silence was quickly broken by the muffled voice of the hologram "Ichi…I'm sorry, am I still grounded"? Although muffled Yoruichi could tell it sounded like a kicked puppy.

Ichigo's scowl instantly lost most of its intensity and was instead was replaced by slight look of guilt before he reached out and removed the magazine, the hologram popped up looking timid and trying to look anywhere but his face hiding its pom-poms behind her back its skin looked had changed from the yellow it was before to a light blue, "I didn't ground you Holly…I just put you in a timeout. By the way I didn't like your dance, I loved it thanks for that".

Holly smiled and her color changed back to yellow to show her happiness Yoruichi guessed, "Thanks Ichi you're the best".

After a few moments of silence Ichigo cleared his throat before turning to Holly "so what was it that you wanted to talk to me about"?

"Oh yes I wanted to tell you that this is the initiation day for the political volunteers, and that they are just about suited up".

Ichigo then let out a groan and slumped forward onto his desk "man why'd the council have to do something so stupid… these guys are just weaklings I know that they'll stick around just long enough for me to get attached then they're going to do something stupid and die, then I'm going to have to go to more damn funerals and then I'll have to personally deliver the bad news to the heartbroken loved ones".

_How many times has something like this happened? _Thought an alarmed Yoruichi, but Holly didn't react to his outburst "be that as it may Ichi you need to get up and get going… lets go silly get your rear in gear".

Ichigo raised an eyebrow and looked askance at Holly before standing and walking to the wardrobe, after punching in a code which caused a drawer to open with an audible hiss. Inside was a faded blue baseball cap, a red sash and an ornate looking gauntlet, Ichigo removed the cap then turned back to his desk and re-placed his harness. Ichigo put the cap on and closed the drawer, Yoruichi looked at the cap on the front was a dagger with wings in front on a ribbon proudly stated 'who dares wins', after a few seconds Yoruichi placed where she knew it from it was a British SAS hat. She watched as Ichigo stood in front of the wardrobe looking at the sash and gauntlet with a conflicted look before his face shifted to a look of defiance, muttering "fuck it" before leaving the remaining items and shutting the drawer, "ah-ah Ichi-kun you know that's against the rules, you have to wear those" teased Holly looking oddly anxious like she couldn't wait to get him out of the office.

Ichigo grinned and shot back "oh yeah and when have I ever been good at following rules, let them follow the man who is leading them because of his worth in the field and not because of his flashy getup".

With that Ichigo turned and walked out of his office, but before Yoruichi could make it through the door it slammed shut and metal plates slid in place blocking her in while panels opened up all over the walls showing cannon like ports that were glowing white hot. Holly once again popped out of the desk only this time she was almost the size of a regular human and looked much more evil, with every part of her glowing red and her pom-poms had transformed into twin morning stars, Holly then screamed "YOU. WILL. NOT. LEAVE. THIS. ROOM.".

Yoruichi stood stunned as the hologram continued "unknown intruder you will obey my orders to the letters if not I will activate my security cannons and they will fill this room with plasma that has been heated to 3,000K… it's like I tossed your ass into the sun, walk forward and use the pen and paper that are on the desk to print your name and affiliation you have five seconds to comply".

Yoruichi dashed to the desk and scribbled 'Yoruichi Shihouin friend of Ichigo's from soul society', Holly stared at the words for a few seconds her color flashing briefly from red to orange back to red "hold still while I attempt to confirm your identity".

As hidden sensors mapped her features Yoruichi stood completely still hoping for the best when Holly looked at her with electric blue eyes and began speaking in a trancelike voice "Yoruichi Shihouin description: 5ft 1,1/2 in 93 lbs. subject readings: 5ft 1,1/2 in 98 lbs. checking features for a match… success 100 percent match". At the part of her weight Yoruichi winced _damn after all I've been through today I didn't need a damn hologram to hold me prisoner then tell me that I gained a few pounds in my time off._

Holly then popped out of her trance and with a wave of her hand the office went back to normal then replied in her regularly bubbly voice "hi my name is Holly I'm Ichigo's personal AI, I'm also really happy that you're a friend, if you're wondering how I know where you are… well it's kind of hard to explain but the easy way to say it is my sensors felt your unique energy. But it's not an exact science so since you're a friend of Ichi's I'm going to help you follow him but you're going to have to wear this visor it'll help me talk to you".

At the AI's command a compartment opened on the desk and out came what looked like a single earmuff, after shrugging Yoruichi grabbed it and placed it on her right ear then she screamed in pain as many tiny hooks dug into her skin securing the device and a green hologram appeared in front of her eye showing a compass at the bottom and a small square showing Holly's face. Soon the AI's voice came through the speaker "oh goody all systems check, ok just a couple things you should know about this visor number 1: it's reading your energy and mimicking it so you don't have to worry nobody can see it, number two this visor is fitted with a personal nuclear explosive device so if you try and hurt Ichigo, try and tell unsafe people his secrets or tamper with the device…" the voice cut off to show what looked like a product testing video of a visor like hers sitting in a field after a short countdown it exploded leaving a small mushroom cloud.

Holly resumed speaking jovially "so long nine lives… huh I wonder if I could get an award for teaching a cat how to play dead"?

Although thoroughly creeped out by Holly's behavior Yoruichi worked up the nerve to ask "so you said that you would help me, then will you tell me where we are, what Ichigo is doing here and what in general happens here"?

Holly smiled ear to ear "certainly this is a secret base for t-" her speech cut out and was replaced with static mixed with garbled words.

"Holly, are you ok" asked Yoruichi? Much to her relief Holly's face reappeared.

"I'm fine I was just answering your questions… why do you ask"?

"Because you got to 'a secret base' then it all turned to static" explained Yoruichi.

The AI's expression quickly soured "oh pooh, it must be some secret firewall that's denying you clearance to hear the information, darn it I guess you will just have to eavesdrop to get it I'll try and trick people who have clearance into talking. Oh yes we have to catch up to Ichi just go to the door and open it I'll handle the secretary".

Yoruichi did as she was told and for the next few minutes she ran/ limped through a maze of hallways something the AI didn't fail to notice "you're limping what did you do to yourself silly"?

"I kinda crash landed after getting past the door… I think somebody should look at it the thing got stuck and that's how I got through".

Holly giggled before teasing "no silly there's nothing wrong with the door…it was me I held the door open so I could find out who has been following Ichigo these few weeks, oh there's Ichi".

True to her word there was Ichigo walking towards what looked an observation deck while puffing on another cigarette which made Yoruichi frown "oh that's just great I turn my back on him for a few months and now he's chain smoking".

At this the AI's looked at her askance "you mean when he didn't smoke while he was protecting the soul society"?

"Not around me, why"?

Holly gasped "so that why he was so crotchety, well I think if I word this right I might be able to tell you something… you see I've been watching Ichigo's back for a while and the whole time he was smoking just to relieve stress which for a man of his rank comes around like a monsoon. But if it's his health your worried about don't be his weekly checkups confirm that he is in tippy top condition".

Yoruichi just grunted disapprovingly while focusing on Ichigo who had made it to the observation deck who's only other occupant was pale man with narrow features and coal black hair, the man didn't salute Ichigo or even change the blank look on his face he only nodded and spoke in a low voice that sounded creaky with disuse "you know those things will kill you right"?

Ichigo chuckled and proffered a cigarette and looked through the window at a group of seven or more soldiers who were busy talking to one another while waiting for the man to light it and take a deep pull before asking "well what do you make of them"?

The man sighed and exhaled the smoke "they aren't strangers to the battlefield… but when they get a glimpse of the hell that we face you should be careful as they will probably freeze up".

Ichigo shook his head "damnit that's what I was afraid of… Grim get em ready".

Grim nodded and walk away while Ichigo stood at the window for a few more moments, then Ichigo turned and walked down a set of stairs into the large room below. The group in the room was dressed in a black version of the body armor from before but they quickly stopped talking when two of the regular personal snapped salutes calling them to attention, Ichigo put on what looked to be a faked smile and waved for them to stand at ease before speaking in English "hi my name is Ichigo let's try and keep the confusion down by speaking English when in each other's presence, ok just so you know a little about me I'm the commander of operations around here, also I'm the captain of the shadow dragon squad and you're new boss. Let me ask when you signed up did you get a small parade in your honor maybe you got a dinner with a prominent defense leader in your country"?

When all of the assembled soldiers nodded Ichigo continued "and I'm willing to bet that they congratulated you on being so brave and that what you are doing will bring the world closer to a lasting peace"?

Once again all of them nodded and Ichigo snorted in disbelief "wow what a bunch of fucking liars… well I guess that why they are politicians, well now be happy because I'm no politician and I'll tell you straight up you are all freaking idiots. Seriously do you even know what we do here, or did just sign up because you heard a rumor about a team that was looking for good fighters and paid extremely well"?

Most of them shifted in place and looked away in guilt "protocol says I can't tell you any specifics until you have successfully completed your first mission but since you guys are so damn clueless I give you a warning, our job is to find any threat to the general safety of this planet and we kill it, now you may have seen some hairy shit in your time on the tier one teams that you came from but let me tell you it is nothing compared to the things we face on a daily basis. Shit that looks like it came from your worst nightmares will come after you, if you manage to live past that then you will be worked to the point where you won't be able to remember when you last had five minutes to yourself and when you do get the rare chance to sleep shit that you thought was only in fantasies will make staying asleep too hard for it to be worth it, now what I want to know from you is can you handle that or are you going to freak out and get yourself killed because if that the case the door is over there? Personally I think that would be the smartest choice because I don't want to have to fill out the mountain of paperwork that will come from you dying, also if you leave now I will make sure that you get a fat severance check and a personal letter of recommendation will be sent to the appropriate authorities… well any takers?

All of the assemble soldiers shifted in place but didn't move towards the door "well don't you want to live just a little bit longer, come on this isn't the time for pride" Ichigo was practically pleading at this point.

Still none of the five men and two women moved from their spots "you all are fucking insane… I like that, well since you don't want to leave then get your asses and get ready…come on I wanted this morgue moving five minutes ago".

At his orders the group started following his lead to the door when Ichigo turned and flashed the smile that Yoruichi had dubbed his 'devil grin' "oh and welcome to task force archangel".

With that he walked off leaving the group far behind, seizing the opportunity the blonde haired female turned to the other black haired woman and whispered " tough, god like body and a dominant personality… I would totally fuck that".

The other lady shook her head and countered "isn't he a little young for you, for the love of god Jessica he doesn't even look like he's out of high school yet, you cougar".

That comment hit Yoruichi right in the gut as the same manner of thoughts had been plaguing her for some time, not only was the woman being frowned at for only commenting but in the worst case scenario she was only ten years older than Ichigo, but Yoruichi who wanted the same thing as her was at least five times her age, brushing such thoughts aside Yoruichi continued watching.

The named Jessica grinned and wagged her eyebrows suggestively "oh don't lie Mel I saw you checking out his ass… not interested that ok because mammas going to get her one fine ass cub".

As the exchange ended the group had walked into a large hanger with multiple different machines that Yoruichi didn't recognize lining the walls, and in the middle was a large hi-tech plane and sitting on crates around the plane was four soldiers dressed in a much less bulky version of the armor suites that she had seen thus far, "rookies consider yourselves honored you are now looking at the best team period the shadow dragons, with these warrior I am confident that I could march them straight into hell just to kick Satan off his craper".

Yoruichi lifted a brow at his words of choice surely some of his allies in soul society would have been better choices "I will introduce you using their preferred designations if you want their real names you will have to let them tell you and that's a right you will have to earn, left to right first is Bront, heavy machinery expert". The named man was massive standing almost seven feet tall and had muscle piled on top of muscle, he was made even more intimidating by the a large double bladed axe that hung from a harness on his back and an alien looking belt fed machine gun with an evil looking barbed bayonet on the end, when his name was called he stood and banged his fist against his chest.

"Next up is Petya, team sniper" the only woman in the group was tall just under six feet and slimly built with black hair and golden highlights. She was also the least armored in the group armor clearly utilizing speed and flexibility she was carrying a long sniper rifle in her arms and two machine pistols on her hips and what looked like a Gladius strapped to her right shoulder, when she was introduced she raised her head gave a completely fake smile and flashed a quick peace sign.

"This is Nickels, reconnaissance expert" the male was of average height with strawberry blonde hair and tanned skin, his armor closely resembled a S.W.A.T. Team uniform he was armed with an assault rifle and a pistol with a medium sized war hammer hanging off his lower back, the man clearly a charmer when his name came up he flashed the two new females a smile a winked.

"You probably won't ever talk to him as he hardly ever leaves the cockpit but Hawk is our team pilot" as Ichigo finished his sentence Yoruichi thought she saw a shadow move in the cockpit.

"Last but not least is Grim my right hand man and your captain when I'm not around", Grim was dressed in the oddest of all his armor was heavier around the chest but all the plates were sleek and shaped for easy movement but maximum protection he was armed with a heavy looking assault rifle with a pistol that was almost identical to Ichigo's hanging from his lower back and he had two cutlasses crossed on his back, as he was introduced he removed the cigar from his mouth and gave a slight nod.

Ichigo looked at his team with obvious pride before continued addressing the rookies "you will listen to every order they give you if you want to live long, also you should note that they are far better killers then babysitters… so let's try to not piss them off, alright introductions are over. See the crates over there, use those to ammo up and get on the plane".

As the team loaded on the plane Ichigo made his way over to one of the machines pressed his palm to a reader and when a door opened he stepped inside and closed it, after a few minutes he stepped out in full armor that was similar to Grim's but with a few changes, Ichigo's gear was by far more sleek giving the impression of a predator, his arms were left completely bare save for combat gloves, his normal sunglasses were replaced with a visor that wrapped around his whole head and connected to a radio headset, Yoruichi couldn't help but notice that all members of his squad had helmets when he didn't but her troubled thoughts for his safety were interrupted by Holly "oh great now that he has his suit and headset on I can give you a direct feed to what he sees and what he says".

Yoruichi watched as Ichigo walked towards the plane when she notice that he had an additional sword judging from what she could see it had a broadsword handle and the blade looked like Kisuke's Benihime, but what caught her view was his pants or rather what they were hugging as he walked Yoruichi watched in a pleasant daze as he had almost reached the plane _yep I definitely could get used to that view… those pants are a must when we train in the future. _A loud series of clicks roused her from her state when Holly's voice spoke urgently "ok kitty I took lots of pictures of Ichi's ass for you I even recorded some of it for you, now hold your naughty kitty thoughts until you get on the plane before you get left behind".

Yoruichi quickly realized that she was right and in spite of her still battered limbs she flashed in to the plane and found a seat right next to Ichigo, while taking in the interior of the plane there were cushioned seats with racing seatbelts and was well lit except in the back where Ichigo was sitting but all in all it was simple in comparison to the outside. Yoruichi was about to tell Holly that she hadn't been having 'naughty kitty thoughts' until she looked at her visor and saw Holly on screen giving her a downright evil smirk, it was right then that that the teasing master conceded defeat and remained silent. After a few seconds when it became clear that the shamed Yoruichi wasn't going to make a retort Holly giggled smugly "it's alright kitty I don't blame you… after all Ichigo has a great ass".

Yoruichi blushed profusely and growled at the AI's blatant laughter thankfully Holly didn't press her advantage but instead displayed what Ichigo was doing in his head set, he was listening to more death metal and smoking a cigar this time however he was listening to a different band and much to Yoruichi's delight it was an all-male band by the name of Devildriver. After half an hour later Ichigo finally stirred and tapped his headset and Yoruichi heard an electronic sounding voice say "Ichigo-sir we have a problem the enemy anti-air defense in this area is substantial more so than we anticipated",

Ichigo frowned and asked "is there a way to take them out from the plane"?

"No sir, not without the plane being seen. Why is there something wrong"?

Ichigo took on a slightly regretful look and radioed back "nah… it's just that I made a promise to be careful… oh well, hey Hawk do approach 357".

He then stood and pressed a red button on the panel next to him opening the loading door and used his radio to be heard above the howling wind "we have a problem the enemy has a tighter defense that we were informed of and regulations say that we can't let this plane be seen, so we are going to have to bail out early… so start getting ready for a live drop, we bail in one mike".

The whole team began quickly getting ready checking ammo and weapons while strapping on parachutes, Yoruichi noticed that Ichigo was standing at the door looking like he was going to jump out, the rookie named Jessica noticed this as well "sir where's your parachutes"?

Ichigo turned to look at her confusion all over his face as he asked "what's a parachute"?

That was all he managed to get out before he let out a yelp as turbulence caused him to lose his balance and tumble out of the plane.

A/N: I AM ALIVE, I made it through two fulltime jobs moving to a new apartment, the death of my father figure and a break up. But here it is chapter three, to all of you who are wondering or objecting to my making Ichigo a chain smoker I thought it would add to the image of a stressed out warrior trying to keep his cool, and as a smoker I only have one thing to say to all you haters: you are absolutely right, it's bad for you, your family and your finances so do yourselves a favor and don't even start.

As always drop a review and let me know how I did.


	4. Chapter 4

Himitsu no akumu

THIS IS AN M RATED FIC FOR A REASON IF YOU CANT HANDLE GARPHIC SITUATIONS PLEASE DON'T READ

Yoruichi could only gape in horror _no way no fucking way did he just fall out of the goddamn plane… WITHOUT A MOTHERFUCKING PARACHUTE, _as her shocked thoughts finished she was already leaping towards the door when the sound of laughter stopped her, it was coming from her headset and it sounded like Ichigo. As she glanced around she saw that screens all around the plane were displaying a video feed of Ichigo in freefall in fetal position cackling like a madman " oh, my, god… you should see you faces, please for the love of all that is good someone take a picture… oh ouch my ribs make it stop I can't take anymore"!

Yoruichi could tell from her visor that he was watching images of the rookie's horrified expressions, _oh good it's a joke so that means that he must have a parachute after all_, she watched as the rookie's stuttered and tried to organize their thoughts enough to respond as the bay door shut sealing all of them inside, "great job Hawk that was perfectly executed… lesson one of being a dragon kids: parachutes are for pussy's see you guys on the other side".

Yoruichi watched helplessly as her friend plummeted toward the earth before the same electronic voice as before came over the speakers "this is your pilot speaking, we will hang overhead while the captain clears all threats below… but I want you kids to watch him and learn about the man we call commander".

As the all watched from Yoruichi's point of view she could see him using his headset to switch the song to one called 'I dreamed I died' by a band called Devildriver (if you want you can listen to the song, if you do it will really set the mood). Ichigo righted himself and the moved into a nose dive heading towards a large valley which from the air looked like it had a large silo like structure at the end of it, but the valley itself was completely blocked off by anti-air guns and guard stations, when Ichigo was almost on top of the AA guns the first of the turrets noticed him and quickly opened fire on him, his face shifted into a feral snarl as he reached behind his back and grabbed the knife off his back and his arm became a blur of motion as he deflected the oncoming rounds, the knife fully revealed was about two and a half feet long at the guard the blade was pitch black and straight like a Tanto knife with . Once Ichigo got close enough he whipped his left hand down to his hip and drew a heavily customized mp5 with holographic sights and a grenade launcher, Yoruichi had failed to notice the weapon or its twin on his other hip due to her 'naughty kitty thoughts'. Ichigo in an incredible display of marksmanship fired his grenade launcher and exploded the turret, he then angled his approach towards one Cliffside of the valley while sheathing his knife and flipping mid-air, when his feet hit the wall he used his momentum to help him lean forward and he began to run at an angle _down _the wall while drawing his other mp5 and began shooting, taking out AA gunners and their crew as he went.

Yoruichi guessed that if she was running next to him at this point she would actually be forced to sprint just to keep up, by this time he had taken out six AA crews and had reached the first guard station he paused mid-stride and pushed off aiming with his guns going full auto, Yoruichi watched shocked as Ichigo only snarled as he killed every man in the station. _What happened to the kid who didn't want to kill even if he had to… you've certainly changed Ichigo I want to hear a damn good explanation for why you've become this way? _Ichigo had started to summersault backwards until he was in range of the other station before he squeezed the triggers but only managed to kill the first two guards before his mp5's clicked dry, he simply tossed them in the air in front of him and while he was facing away from the station he crossed his arms and whipped them out holding both large pistols out in time to line them up with the only two armed enemies left and pull the triggers simultaneously. Yoruichi winced at the unexpected volume of the guns that came through her headset but what really surprised her was the devastation that they caused, when the slugs hit they blew both men's torsos off leaving only the legs behind, Ichigo in mid-flip holstered his pistols and grabbed two magazines from his belt and slammed them into the ports in his mp5's before working each charging handle one-handed and then used then to clear out the station. His feet made contact with the wall and he once again started running downwards still shooting the few remaining AA crews left, once he had reached the last AA gun and disposed of the whole crew except for one who had hidden behind the cover of the gun but had stepped out and was aiming an RPG at Ichigo who was nearly on top of him, in the span of a second Ichigo had closed the distance between them, holstered one mp5, drawn his knife swung it at the man's neck, re-sheathed it and snatched the RPG from him. Ichigo pointed the RPG a group of vehicles that were staged on an overpass like structure and fired, hitting a Humvee causing it and multiple other vehicles to explode.

Ichigo had reached the bottom of the valley, landing in a crouch and he stood looking back at the trail of death and destruction that was behind him while replacing his cap "huh… not to bad".

_Not bad, seriously you just took out ten AA turrets, two guard stations and a vehicle depot…if that is you're not bad then I really don't want to see what 'good' looks like, _it seemed like the rookies shared her thoughts as a tale blonde male who had remained silent so far chose exclaim in a heavy British accent "that was unbelievable, he was deflecting bullets then ran down a cliff! Who the bloody hell is this guy"?

Yoruichi tuned out the other amazed exclamations as she watched Ichigo crack his neck and start walking towards what looked to be a vehicle check point where enemy soldiers were scrambling to get into formation, Ichigo stopped advancing when all guns were trained on him and a soldier began screaming for him to halt he then cocked his head to the side and scrutinized them with a predatory smirk before he glanced up and noticed that a flaming fuel tanker from the depot that he had destroyed was hanging off the edge ready to drop onto the checkpoint. At this Ichigo looked back at the guards and began motioning for them to look up to no avail, as the tanker dropped off and fell on the assembled men then exploded, Ichigo turned away from the bright flash while grumbling "goddamn morons… I fucking warned them".

Yoruichi frowned lessened at the glimpse of the Ichigo she knew only to darken more as he reached into one of his pouched and pulled out his cigarettes and lighter and attempted to light it, Yoruichi grinned pleased when Ichigo swore "crap empty".

At that moment a man crawled from underneath the burning wreckage screaming and trying to remove his flaming clothes, Ichigo glanced at the man and a split second later a bullet hit the man in the center of his forehead silencing him and mercifully ending his suffering, Ichigo then holstered his mp5 and walked over to the man's still flaming corpse and used the flame to light his cigarette then nodded in its direction "thanks for the light buddy…man I get cranky without these things, it gets so bad that I swear I could kill someone".

Yoruichi snorted in disbelief _kill someone then what were you doing a few moments ago?_

Then the screens in the plane switched off and Yoruichi was forced to watch through her visor, a faint scraping sound was heard Ichigo's head turned and the head of the AA gun operator that Ichigo had decapitated rolled up behind him Ichigo snorted turned and picked up the head, dramatically clapped a hand over his heart and proclaimed "alas poor Yorick I knew him, Horatio, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. He hath bore me on his back a thousand times" this caused his former mentor to crack up at his imitation of Shakespeare's hamlet.

Ichigo then reached up turned on his radio and spoke "alright Hawk you're clear set her down… wait could you use some rockets to clear away some of this wreckage please".

After giving an affirmative answer the pilot waited for Ichigo to get clear before blowing the checkpoint and all debris away, less than two minutes later they had landed and the dragons moved quickly to regroup with Ichigo the rookies not far behind once they arrived Grim handed Ichigo a smaller version of Bront's belt fed equipped with a VMR sight. Ichigo looked at the awestruck faces of the rookies for a long moment "alright kiddos I know you guys must be bursting with questions but those will have to wait till later… now come on keep close and let's make this clean I want to be home in time for breakfast".

With that the squad moved out with the exception of Petya who had taken up positon on top of some random building they moved quickly and quietly from cover to cover, it was easy going until they reached the parking lot in front of the silo that s when all hell broke loose as gunfire opened up from inside the silo, the squad took shelter behind some cinder blocks. Ichigo then barked into his headset "what am I dealing with Petya"?

"Thirty plus tangos… looks like SMG's assault rifles and at least two Gatling turrets".

"Ok Petya when we move I want you take out those turrets then pick your targets at will, Bront take Tom, Melanie, and Heath and flank left. Nickels take Trent, Blake and Vlad and flank right. Grim, Sarah with me up the middle… remember kids don't do anything stupid like getting yourselves killed, because I swear if you make me do more paperwork on your first day I'm going to resurrect you and beat your ass, ok get ready…move now".

At his order each member took off moving and returning fire and started moving into position, it looked like it was going in their favor once Petya had taken out the turrets and began thinning out the enemy's number allowing the squad to move forward and dispose of the stragglers. Throughout the few minutes of the engagement Yoruichi watched closely as Ichigo ducked and weaved all the while making headshots, and barking orders with the practiced ease of a seasoned warrior. As the sound of gunfire died down Yoruichi asked "Holly how long has Ichigo been doing this"?

"Oh pooh, is wish I could tell you but that gosh darn firewall won't let me… sorry pervy kitty".

Yoruichi just shook her head at her new nickname, she was startled by the sharp flash and boom of a flash bang to her left. Time slowed for her as she took in the situation, a group of ten men came spilling out of a hidden door the flash bang had been far enough away to not have affected the squad but it looked as if the rookie Melanie had gotten the worst of it as she was on the ground defenseless. The man in front lowered his gun on the downed soldier smiling in anticipation of an easy kill when out of nowhere he was struck with a back hand blow from the broadside of Bront's axe sending him flying through the air the massive man had seemingly teleported to her side and boy was he livid. Bront stood in front of the rookie protectively while snarling like a rabbit animal as he swung his axe back around and hacked through the two men closest to him his axe cut through bulletproof vests and bodies like they were paper. He then raised his belt fed and dropped his axe, when he pressed a button on the side of his gun two more barrels popped out the stock and attached themselves to the original, the three barrels whirred in a circle spiting lead and brass like a hailstorm. Bront roared like a lion as he worked the gun back and forth until the remaining men resembled Swiss cheese he then pulled the trigger of his side mounted grenade launcher blowing the splintered remains into oblivion, still snarling he dropped his gun letting it's sling catch it and he turned and stomped to the man he had smacked who was on the ground hacking up blood from his clearly broken ribs. Bront didn't hesitate as he grabbed the man and tossed him in the air then quickly grabbed a leg in each hand and swung him headfirst into the ground, Yoruichi gaged when the man's head met the pavement and exploded, with his dirty work done he turned and jogged back to Melanie where he kneeled at her side removed his helmet and began gently rubbing her back while murmuring in a rough bass "there, there sweet one its ok… take it slow".

After a few moments the rookie was back on her feet albeit with a lot of help from Bront, when it was clear she could stand on her own the giant turned and grabbed her dropped assault rifle then returned it to her, Melanie then flashed a brilliant smile at him "thank you Bront" he instantly flushed and turned away.

During the whole display Ichigo had watched curiously and when the giant had flushed his face cracked into a shit eating grin, with a freshly lit cigarette hanging from his teeth Ichigo put the spare lighter he had bummed from Grim in his pocket and muttered "well I'll be damned… I guess miracles do happen".

By this point Bront had recovered his helmet, axe and had regrouped on Ichigo although he was still standing rather close to Melanie, Ichigo watched for a moment fighting a smile until the rookie named Heath a man of medium height, blonde hair and an American accent asked "captain, I've been noticing that these rounds we've been shooting feel like regular .308 but the damage they do is similar to a much higher caliber weapon, why is that sir"?

"Good observation Heath the rounds we shoot have been augmented to be able to do much more damage that regular rounds, it's rather complicated tech but I'll explain at HQ but for now I'll give you a reference. The .308 we are shooting has the damage capabilities of armor piercing .50 BMG on steroids and the rounds that Petya is shooting… well let's just say you would have better luck trying to survive a direct hit from a tomahawk missile, alright class dismissed let's get this silo secured".

The team moved out, inside was three enormous missiles on launch platforms and an empty fourth platform, after a few minutes of searching the squad came upon what looked like a launch control room. As disturbing as the room was it paled in comparison to the fact that all the monitors and screens in the room were showing a countdown _with less than a minute and a half _Ichigo's eyebrows shot up and he barked out "Nickels get on it, upload the virus".

In under a minute he had the launch stopped but that minute was all it took for the stress to deplete Yoruichi waning strength, she leaned against the wall "damn no wonder berry head looks so beat, just in one day he goes through a crazy obstacle course just to get in and then he jumps out of a plane taking out half an army the fights to stop a launch that from the files I saw was nuclear and were headed towards destinations that if I'm not mistaken would spark off world war three… how he hell does he stay so calm all the time"?

To her surprise Holly just laughed "what this, this is nothing you silly pervy kitty Ichi deals with worse situations that this daily, I think he took this mission because it was so easy so it wouldn't kill the rookies and I think he has something… personal in this".

Yoruichi just shook her head in disbelief and watched as the rookies finished up celebrating, but what really held her attention was the way Ichigo kept looking around and sniffing the air, his nose was twitching like a dogs he left the control room to the empty platform and through the silo till he reached an area where several sets of skid marks were positioned towards a now closed set of doors Ichigo looked at them for a second the he swore and bolted out the silo while removing his cap and stuffing it into his pocket. As he exited and turned towards the cliff and jumped, Yoruichi's eyes widened for the umpteenth time that day as his jump carried him nearly sixty feet into the air where he started running up the wall like a cheetah would run across a field Yoruichi used flash step to keep up, she was surprised at his speed but then something else caught her eye, it was the way his arms bulged and flexed causing his tattoo to ripple and the way his orange hair was whipping in the air behind him as he went his body writhing in a manner that would be considered sensual had it not been for the fact that this was a life or death situation. Half way up Yoruichi came to the conclusion _he looks like a modern version of Ares the Greek god of war with his flame colored hair rippling physic and…real_ly, _really perky ass _with that thought Yoruichi's mind took a trip to the dark side of the gutter her panting became more and more obvious as was the fact that her pants weren't coming from exhaustion. "Holly…take…video…please" Yoruichi managed through her moans/pants.

"Alright fine" the AI huffed before continuing in a voice that was just loud enough for her to hear "how the mighty have fallen I was designed by one of the greatest minds of our age to be able to hack into any database solve almost any equation and have the closest thing to emotions that a machine can have… now I'm reduced to taking booty shots of my unaware master for the express pleasure purposes of a bloated overly horny cougar".

Once again the 'cougar' comment hit her in the feels but what got rid of her rather good mood was the 'bloated' comment "what the fuck do you mean bloated"?

Holly's maliciously grinning face took up the full screen of her visor "what I meant by that comment Ms. Flabby kitty was don't think I didn't notice those extra pounds when I scanned you… Ichigo has the amazing ability to accurately tell a person's weight in fact he's so good that it's gotten him in trouble before, so I know he didn't get it wrong in your file…so what's the matter grandma to many cookies"?

Now Yoruichi was pissed how dare she, she was so pissed that she didn't even realize that Ichigo had gotten to the top of the cliff and had crossed a dirt road and continued climbing the next level of the cliff "now you listen here bitch, I am a woman who knows what she likes and wants in a man it just so happens that the guy who fits her bill happens to be younger than her, and so what I put on a couple pounds unlike you girly I've got something to show off… that's right these babies are DD's and don't deny that you don't have curves flatty you're as flat as a board and about half as interesting face it you don't even have an ass. Also unlike you I'm a real person but you are just a machine".

Yoruichi watched in smug satisfaction as Holly gave a wounded gasp then self-consciously examined her figure going so far as to try and stick her pom-poms in her shirt only to start sobbing as they fell out "you know what kitty… you're right but since you've got it all then I guess you don't need these".

Yoruichi's eyes widened as she saw Holly holding the videos and pictures of Ichigo that she had taken over a trash can, desperate to keep the material from harm Yoruichi quickly cut in "no wait I'm sorry you do have a great figure you just need to do squats and… I don't know wear a push-up bra, I hear they do wonders".

Still slightly crying Holly looked to Yoruichi hopefully before asking "really, are you telling me the truth or are you just trying to save those photos".

"No, you are helping me out why would I lie to you". At this point Yoruichi genuinely hoped that crossing her toes counted.

Disregarding the AI'S overjoyed shout Yoruichi brought her focus back to Ichigo who had reached the very top of the mountain and was jogging down a dirt path towards a tunnel that was a little under a mile away while switching the song he was listening to 'living dead beat' by children of bodom, from the tunnel two BTR's, three Humvees, and an Abrams tank followed by a semi dragging the fourth missile. Ichigo's face morphed into a bloodthirsty grin and he took off towards the convoy then the pilot's voice came over his headset "Ichigo that's a ton of armor rolling towards you, do you want me to engage"?

Ichigo's grin widened as his eyes never left the ever approaching convoy "no Hawk this one is personal, I need to let loose on something".

With that Ichigo whipped his arm back and drew his sword, Yoruichi noted that the blade was colored blood red and had a few serrations near the hilt but had no more time to look as Ichigo took off and closed the distance between him and the convoy in a few seconds arms becoming a blur deflecting bullets from the mini-gun on Humvee closest to him grabbing his belt fed and switching it to its three barrel mode. Ichigo continued to charge at the convoy as he fired on the first Humvee, his bullets easily piercing the windscreen killing the driver and passengers before he turned his weapon to kill the gunner, the vehicle still barreled at him but Ichigo sheathed his sword jumped and pushed off the front bumper the summersaulted while in mid-flip Ichigo reached out and used the mini-gun to kill the gunner on the BTR. Ichigo then in an incredible display of dexterity pulled up on the turret bringing himself towards the vehicle before bending his legs behind him in a backflip, he let go of the turret when his feet touched the side of the Humvee after righting himself Ichigo pushed off the side and flew through the air and landed on the BTR grabbing the man who was coming out of hole to replace his comrade. Ichigo laughing like a maniac punched the man then grabbed his helmet and jerked his head back and slashed the fingers on his right hand across the man's throat causing a spray of blood before grabbing a grenade, pulled the pin and tossed it into the vehicle and jumped off hitting the ground running. Still laughing Ichigo jumped to his left avoiding the explosion of the BTR and the heavy missiles that the Abrams was now firing at him, Ichigo continued to run dodging the heavy shells of the Abrams and the remaining BTR as one of the Humvees pulled ahead and gunned its engine aiming to run the berry down. At the last moment when the Humvee was right on top of him Ichigo folded his legs and went under the vehicle, when it passed over Ichigo used the passing bumper to pull himself upright and continue running, he then clicked a small box in his hand and the Humvee exploded. Ichigo then jumped from the ground to the top of the last Humvee only to curse and jump off as the combined fire of the BTR and tank ripped the Humvee apart, Ichigo landed and leapt to the remaining BTR like a demented frog and grabbed onto the door into the tank and began pulling. The metal door held long enough for Yoruichi to snort skeptically at her students actions then gape as Ichigo tore it off with a grunt and dropped his last grenade in, _okay the running down the cliffs and taking out AA guns I can pawn off on adrenalin and great aim… but you just tore off a goddamn re-enforced armor plate with your bare hands… what the fuck did they do to you Ichigo your acting like a monster with the capabilities of a strong seated officer._ Her troubled thoughts were interrupted as the rookie named Sarah called over his head set "sir what's going on up there? Holy crap that's a tank".

During the rookies question Holly had sent them a video feed from Ichigo's visor of him running straight at the tank, at her startled exclamation Ichigo's still present bloodthirsty grin widened even more as his right hand dipped into one of the pouches on his belt and removed a small missile shaped device, by then he was right in front of the tank and he pushed a button on the bottom of the device and baseball pitched it down the main barrel on the tank then ran past it towards the missile carrier, "the tank hunter…never leave home without it" Ichigo said as he ran past the now exploding tank.

Dropping to all four resuming the cheetah like running from before, in a burst of motion that Yoruichi was hard pressed to keep up without using flash step Ichigo jumped on the side of the semi grabbing the door and ripped it off, he deposed of the driver by snapping his neck. The passenger soon followed as Ichigo used the regular sized Ka-bar combat knife from an upside down sheath on his chest to stab the man in the eye, Ichigo tossed the drivers body out then climbed in sheathing the knife and turning the truck so it would safely slow to a stop before grabbing the door frame and swinging on to the trailers and resumed running on all fours. Ichigo paused mid-stride to rip a small device off the side of the missile and stuff it into a pouch then he jumped off and ran normally towards a limousine that had been hidden by the rest of the convoy, Ichigo swung his belt fed around and shot out the front tires of the limo causing it to swerve out of control coming to a stop on the side of the cliff with two of its wheels hanging off the edge.

Ichigo lowered his shoulder and put on a burst of speed ramming the already unstable vehicle over the side then used the limo as a sled to roll down the cliff. When the limo finally reached the bottom Ichigo jumped off and landing in a crouch facing the downed vehicle, a few moments later the door was kicked open and a group of eight soldiers covered head to toe in black body gear crawled out of the wreckage followed by two European looking men in business suites one of the quite old in his early seventies with the younger looking to be in his mid-thirties, as the men staggered to their feet and moved to into a defensive position in front of Ichigo with weapons at the ready the old man took a closer look at Ichigo's face then paled considerably and open his mouth to speak when Ichigo moved.

Yoruichi's eyes widened as her now human student became a blur as he reached lower level flash step speeds but without using any reiatsu _holy shit this must be his natural speed _thought Yoruichi as she was sure that all the man saw was Ichigo vanish. Yoruichi watched as Ichigo began lashing out with fierce punches and kicks, within the span of a blink of an eye all that remained of the soldiers was broken necks and crushed skulls from the titanic force of his blows but all the same Yoruichi had a nagging feeling that moves he had used were familiar. The younger of the two men looked at the broken bodies that had just stared to fall around the recently appeared Ichigo and gave an insane laugh then spoke in English that was hard to understand do to his strong Russian accent "wow that was amazing how you killed them so fast I could not see it happen"

Ichigo took his eyes off the older figure and smiled at the man "oh you like that huh… well that was my bastardized version, you might just get to see the original… for your sake however I hope you just focus on the moves and not the person cause if ya do I'll have to rip your spine out".

The old man took this opportunity to speak in flawless English "well, well if it isn't task force archangel's feared Delta-337… you certainly live up to your nickname 'akumu', which I do believe translates to 'nightmare' in this language. I am Viktor and this is my son Anatoly… I would normally say it's a pleasure to meet such a feared killer but given the fact that you're in body armor that is drenched with the blood of my personal guard I think I'll refrain. I wasn't aware that my little group warranted the attention of your organization let alone its best soldier, which leads me to ask why you are here?"

Ichigo looked at the man for a long moment, his face was unreadable. CRACK the sudden noise caused Yoruichi to flinch, Ichigo had drawn his mp5 and shot Anatoly once in the chest while staring at the father. Ichigo continued to pull the trigger firing one bullet at a time while staring at the horror stricken face of the father until his gun clicked dry, Ichigo stared at his gun for a moment then reloaded it as the young man's body fell to the ground and Viktor then quickly hobbled to his sons side and held him, as Anatoly began coughing up blood and crying for help Viktor began to tell his clearly dying son that it was all going to be ok then another gunshot sounded. Ichigo had shot Anatoly in the head silencing him then turned and walked towards the father and casually spoke " sorry I had to cut your tear filled parting short but I don't exactly have a lot of time or patience for these type of things".

Yoruichi frowned at the cruelty he had just displayed but her features softened as she took a closer look at his face as he stalked toward the grieving man, Ichigo was furious he may have been schooling his features but it was clear to one who knew him that there was a deep personal hatred that was pointed at the old man. Viktor had risen and grabbed a fallen gun in his rage and pointed at Ichigo but a simple backhand shattered it. The old man was sent flying from a well-placed kick to the chest while Ichigo stalked towards him menacingly, the man moved to his feet with surprising speed and reached into his coat pocket, pulled out a smallish remote and pressed two quick buttons and began laughing hysterically… nothing happened and Viktor grew quiet looking puzzled until Ichigo spoke "oh I'm sorry were you trying to blow us all up by remote detonating that missile…whoops I must have forgot to mention that I kinda broke the receiver" Ichigo then tossed the small device that he had ripped off the side of the missile on the ground in front of Viktor

Ichigo began to mercilessly beat the old man down until he was just a bloody whimpering husk on the ground Ichigo then placed his boot on the back of the old man's head and leaned in and began speaking "now that I have your undivided attention… you asked why I'm here, well I'll tell you… it's because your name hit my desk, that in itself is interesting because all missions are paperless delivered by a messenger, or sent in a message to our visors or another device. No your name reached me in a letter delivered personally by my informant in the South African government he said he thought I should see to this personally".

Ichigo then reached up and undid a few snaps at the neck of his armor then reached in and pulled out a couple pieces of paper on them appeared to be a handwritten letter Ichigo resumed speaking "I'll read the letter but bear with me my Zulu is a little rusty 'greetings Delta-337 I would use your real name but our shared friend said it was highly confidential, my name Mikael Brandt I'm a mercenary formerly from Germany I'm writing this to you as a fellow man of war in the hopes that this reaches you well. In my travels I met a woman in Durban and fell in love, sounds a lot like a stupid fairy tale I suppose but this isn't the story I wanted to tell you that story starts a few months ago, long after I had settled down in a small town with the woman from before and had started a life with my ten year old daughter… one night an armored convoy pulled into my village and a two men in suits followed by a large security detail got out a went to see a local crime lord who had made his home in the village, after a while deeming this to be just a drug deal my family and I went to sleep only to be woken by the men from before tearing us from our beds before being bound and dragged into the street and tossed in front of the two men from before then younger of the two'…"

Ichigo trailed off for a few seconds staring at the sheet his eyes narrowed and he started shaking violently, shivering in an almost uncontrollable rage, after a few seconds Ichigo spat through clenched teeth. "I've read this letter plenty of times and I can't seem to get through the rest of the letter without getting so worked up that I have to kill something so I'll just summarize, you and your son went through the crowd picking women and shooting those that you deemed to old when Mr. Brandt tried to fight back you had your men beat him down and made him watch as you and your son took turns on his daughter and wife before shooting them and then you had your men beat him more and leave him for dead. He woke up a few weeks later in a hospital only to be questioned by members of his government… later through a lot of prying he found of that you had been gathering nuclear materials and had settled in Europe, that's when NATO became interested in you and after sufficient evidence was gathered they turned the mission over to my organization. But at the same time a report reached my informant and he reached out to Mr. Brandt after getting the story of what had happened told him that this project was too big for him but that he knew of a man that could handle this but he would have to pull a few strings, long story short his letter that asks for justice to be served reached me… you see NATO wanted to keep this low key and out of the general public's eye so they turned to my organization. Good thing the letter reached me, before I demanded this mission be transferred to my team it had been assigned to one of our less proficient squads who I'm sure would have fucked this up I that answers your question of why the best squad ever bothered to take on such a piddle fuck assignment… but the personal reason I'm here is because my real name Ichigo Kurosaki and I'm a trained killer with two rules. Rule number one: if I have to kill then I try and kill as quickly as I can, rule number two: there are evil people in this world who take great pleasure inflicting pain and sorrow on the innocents that I protect… those BASTARDS are the ones that I kill with pleasure, and when I say with pleasure I'm mean I kill them as _slowly _as I can. With my personal reasons out of the way now for the professional, the mission details say that you have a flash drive with a list of you supporters that you always keep … I've been dispatched to retrieve the drive and the nuclear weapons that you have".

Yoruichi asked "Holly is what he said true".

Holly merely nodded and displayed a file on the father son duo and Yoruichi lost all pity as she read the list of crimes that they had been wanted for Yoruichi spat out "these are creature's not men, it's a damn shame that one so young as Ichigo should have to deal with them" once again the AI just nodded.

Then Ichigo removed his foot and rolled that man over ignoring his screams of pain, Yoruichi watched as her visor displayed that Ichigo was using his own visor to scan the man looking for the flash drive upon finding it in an internal pocket of the man's suit Ichigo yanked the man up then slammed him into the limo then he crossed his arms drew both revolvers and crammed them under the old man's chin. Yoruichi watched as Ichigo's visor flashed the word 'execute' over and over but Ichigo seemed to be fighting with himself, then he holstered his weapons and hoisted the man to eye level "I'm not going to kill you… your life isn't mine to take, that right belongs to a common acquaintance that we share. But before we leave I just remembered that I told you my real name… sorry but can't let that get out so you're going to have to go mute".

Yoruichi turned away slightly as Ichigo cut the man's tongue out then rubbed the blood off on the man's suit, she may have thought that he deserved whatever he got but it didn't make it any easier to watch. Ichigo hesitated for a second then he chopped the man's hands off before hefting the man over one shoulder and walked off the edge of the mountain side, using his legs and arm like a rudder to slow and direct his descent to the recently appeared silo. It was then holly signaled Yoruichi "listen closely pervy I'm going to try and get Ichi to talk about his abilities".

"Hey Ichi"?

"Yeah"

"How did you know that the convoy was getting away"?

Ichigo who was still sliding down the cliff looked full on at his visor then bluntly asked "Holly what the hell is wrong with you lately"?

Yoruichi who was using a reshi platform to glide down rolled her eyes and said "nice going genius you were way to obvious and he caught you", Holly's reply was a picture of a hand flipping the bird'

Holly appeared on Ichigo's visor crying overdramatically "oh Ichi that's so mean, how could you say that to me when I was just curious"

Ichigo didn't seem to buy it "Holly all day you have been out of character, first today in my office you were acting pushy trying to get me out like there was something you didn't want me to see, then earlier you were acting shifty trying to get past some of the safety firewalls".

Ichigo paused long enough to land and right himself a few hundred meters from the entrance to the silo then continued "you forget my visor is privy to almost every stream of info that you open, that aside you have been displaying combat info slower than usual… it's almost like your mind is somewhere else, so spit it out, what the hell is going on"?

Holly looked at Ichigo ashamed for a moment and in that moment Yoruichi feared that Holly would give her up until she answered him "do you remember yesterday before you left to go home how you submitted my chip for a virus scan… well during the scan several of my files on your past and your abilities got tagged as viruses and were deleted. I didn't notice until recently that's why I was trying to access those files, and trying to recall or restore them is what was causing my delays".

Ichigo who had been walking towards the silo, sighed and replied "so instead of asking me for clearance you just went and tried to hack one of the most secure networks around to try and get the lost information, why"?

So far Yoruichi was relieved that the AI hadn't given her up but now she was just impressed at her acting abilities, Holly had started to tear up as she choked out "because Ichi your opinion matters to me and I didn't want you to think that I'm forgetful and useless, and I'm a research AI by design so when I don't know something it really bugs me…so could you just answer the question".

Ichigo's face morphed reluctantly from suspicion to pity before groaned and answered "well my five senses are insanely strong but my sense of smell is by far the strongest in fact it's quite a bit stronger than that of a hunting dog, so when we were in the launch room I had been picking up scents that weren't from any of the dead bodies lying around. So I tracked the missing scents to those skid marks and the sealed escape route… it doesn't take a genius to put two and two together… oh and in case you're wondering how I knew where they were going, I saw the road on my way down while I was dealing with the AA guns".

Holly put on a massive smile "Thanks for not judging me Ichi".

Ichigo grunted in affirmation then spoke "no problem I'll take you to doc in the morning to get fixed…just one more question, why the fuck did you take these"?

At his question his visor pulled up the videos and pictures of him that Holly had taken in the hanger, Holly's answer was startled and rather guilty "w-well Ichi I-I'm a research AI who's been programed to be as close to a h-human as possible…I took those photos for two reasons one I was hoping to finally figure out how you're raw animal magnetism works after seeing it at the very least catch the attention of every woman you meet, and secondly I was asked to take some photos of you in action by the doc for her… ah personal enjoyment ".

Throughout the explanation Ichigo's dubious expression had been getting steadily worse until he had yanked his visor off and face palmed with his free hand muttering "women are so frustrating… even the artificial ones, man why couldn't I have gotten a Hector unit".

By the end of his mini rant Ichigo had replaced his visor and reached the front of the silo where the rest of his team was waiting, Ichigo dropped his mangled prisoner in front of Petya stating "fix him up please I want him to stay alive for a little while longer".

The sniper took one look at her new charge then began cursing in different languages as she kneeled at the old man's side rapidly applying a cauterizing agent on the stumps that used to be his wrists, she then brutishly punched him in the head to keep him from thrashing about as she quickly injected him with several different syringes in different areas of the body. Yoruichi watched amazed as the evidence of the savage beating that Viktor had received from Ichigo disappeared, if not for the obviously missing teeth, tongue and hands then the man would appear perfectly healthy, Ichigo turned to the rookies and resumed speaking in his command voice "alright kids congrats you have completed your very first assignment as an operative of task force archangel, which means you get an intro into the more classified aspects of what we do here but first things first, though our jamming systems are in effect in this area I'm not going to risk a security outbreak by answering top secret questions so I need you to load up and get on the plane. Let's go the clean-up crews will be on plot soon and I really don't want to put one of those dumb asses in their place after they get pushy".

Less than five minutes later the group was seated on the plane with the newbies sitting directly across from Ichigo and the other veterans, after a few moments in the air Ichigo let out a heavy sigh the started to speak "alright story time kids, now before I start I ask that you hold all questions until I'm done… the key to your employment and continued sanity depends on your ability to accept four simple facts, number one: monsters such as werewolves vampires and many others are real, and they aren't those sweet romantic things that read about in all those lonely housewife books nowadays… some of them are downright evil. Number three: aliens from space are real, same story with the monsters most of them are real assholes… don't think E.T. instead think the movie alien on PCP. Number three: extra-dimensional beings are real and let me tell you out of the twenty two documented interactions only two were later confirmed as non-hostile or possible allies. Number four: all three mention groups are trying to some extent to eliminate humanity and take over the planet, and have been for thousands of years now it is your job to stop them. Those four things aside I'll dig into exactly what this organization is… in a nutshell our title is 'a mercenary global protection agency' we aren't loyal to a flag and the only purpose we serve is to find and eliminate threats to the planet both foreign and domestic, it's dangerous work and the powers that be pay us very well for what we do. Now just so you get where all this comes from I'll give you a bit of history… our organization is very old, it was formed before many of the first empires, seven leaders from different clans got together under the banner of necessity, through a few of the old texts that survived we found out that they got together to prevent a 'beastly foe' from killing man kind who we guess were ancient day monsters. After a long and bloody war the seven clans managed to drive the beasts into near extinction, after that the clans stayed together in order to stay strong in case of further threats, almost fifty years later a new foe emerged and near as we can tell from the two texts that remain state that the enemy 'moved with the heavens' leading us to guess that it was aliens. But after just three short months the humans were nearly destroyed by their enemies superior weapons when unlikely allies came to their aid, it was monsters and guessing from a rather crude drawing of four different beings charging their foes, the first closely resembles a werewolf the second looks like a vampire in its bat form… the third is unlike any monster still around so experts think that they went extinct. The texts have the names of the unidentified creatures burned out but what they do say is that under the leadership of the unidentified monsters the combined might of the four races pushed the aliens back and later destroyed them with their own weapons that the unnamed monsters managed to learn to use…throughout the course of history this group has been there in the shadows keeping earth and mankind safe we also serve the purpose of safeguarding the secret of monsters existence and weapons acquired in the encounters with other forces, so the powers that be don't use that technology to destroy the world that we are working so hard to protect and that's the beauty of have a mercenary organization that's not loyal to single county. And make no mistake we aren't your standard military all the tech that we've gathered sets us worlds apart and we keep getting better every day. So back to the story about eight years ago Grim, Bront, Nickels and I got… 'Recruited' to an elite group to fight off the very first confirmed extra-dimensional force".

Yoruichi watched as the three men visibly flinched when Ichigo said 'recruited' but they stayed silent but Yoruichi's thoughts stayed troubled as something he said _wait he said eight years ago… that's when his mom had died, hmm something isn't adding up here, _Ichigo continued speaking "the information that I'm going to tell you is so classified that people have been killed for even thinking about it, that aside it all stared in Europe when a strange portal opened and closed without warning a few week later the portal opened again and a race named the Dreytaki emerged. Let me give you a quick insight to them, the Dreytaki's average height is seven feet humanoid shape… the have slightly insect like features that vary from one to the other, their culture is largely based on combat with the strongest ruling. Back to the start when the second portal opened the Dreytaki were greeted by a group of NATO diplomats…it didn't end well for the diplomats as the invaders immediately slaughtered them and their escorts, luckily for earth there was a group of archangels nearby that stopped them from spreading. Roughly three months and several attacks later in all different areas of the world it was clear that this race wasn't going to stop until the earth was nothing more than a burnt husk, so the leaders of the world got together and the dumb fucks that they are turned to us the only military power that had been able to stop them without alerting the public or using nukes and declared that we are the planets defense and that it was our duty to handle this crisis on our own without funding or aid. Without funding or reinforcements the agency began… uhh recruiting us and a few hundred others to fight what was called 'the one year war'… to make a rather long and bloody year short we won and now the Dreytaki are our allies and after it was over those of us who survived realized that we would be betraying the memories of our fallen brothers and sisters by quitting, so we stayed and over the years we came to see that protecting earth was the right thing to do… so now here we are still stopping earth shattering events before they reach the light of day and getting paid extremely well for it. So any questions?"

The rookie Sarah raised her hand and when called on asked "you said we get paid well to go up against these type of threats, how much are we talking about"?

Ichigo grinned "atta girl already thinking like a mercenary, to answer your question it's around $25,000 weekly, perks of us putting the thumbscrews on the world leaders after the war. Anymore questions"?

The rookie Melanie raised her hand and asked "you said that the rounds we were shooting are modified by complicated technology could you explain"?

Ichigo opened his mouth to reply but hesitated for a few seconds then adopted a very Aizen like smile before replying "I think that question would be answered better by our munitions expert… well go ahead Bront".

The giant raised his head and holly displayed his face inside his helmet as realized that the dark haired females eyes were on him, he blushed and looked down and drew a pistol identical to Ichigo's and ejected a round then displayed it to the rookies then spoke in his rough bass "these babies are a gift from the Dreytaki, after the war was over they decided that Task Force Archangel were good enough killers that they helped us further develop our killing methods. What you're staring at is a .50 caliber pistol round with pockets of plasma it that can explode on impact giving it much more raw power, inside there is a small rod of 'dark energy' that once the powder ignites the rod releases the energy as a beam that propels the bullet much faster than it normally would go".

When Bront finished talked Ichigo cleared his throat and asked "anything else"?

The rookie named Trent asked "Wait if we are some super advanced military why are we using supped up bullets instead of… I don't know ray guns or something"?

Ichigo continued grinning and stated "another good question, first this is a low level mission there wasn't any need for that much force second I'm not trusting a bunch of rookies with that kind of tech until they have been properly trained with it, next"?

The American rookie Heath raised his hand and asked "sir…you said eight years ago but to me it looks like you are at most like eighteen…"

Ichigo frowned seemingly already not liking where this was going "seventeen, get to your point Heath".

Heath carried on not noticing the danger he was in "my point is that would have to make you nine, nine and a half maybe ten… doesn't seem realistic".

Ichigo's frown switched into a full on glare "what you've never heard of a child soldier before… well now you have, are there any more questions… no, good my damn babysitter mood has worn off".

The ride was silent for a few minutes when a red light started blinking then the pilot called over the radio "Ichigo we are approaching the drop zone you requested, we'll be circled around in about three mikes… do you want to stay or do you I need to swing around at your signal for a pick up"?

Ichigo seemed to be deep in thought for a moment before answering "I'm only going to be a few minutes… just bring her back around please".

Hawk signaled he understood then activated a device jammer, then holly displayed a feed from what appeared to be the pilots visor showing Yoruichi that the plane was approaching a small town then Holly told Yoruichi "get ready to bail kitty Ichi just deactivated his visor so if you want to see what happens I suggest sticking close to him".

Yoruichi nodded and waited when the plane was within eyesight Hawk fired a pair of smoke missiles that concealed the plane, once the jet touched the ground Ichigo grabbed Viktor and ran out the recently opened bay door with Yoruichi right on his heels as their feet touched the ground the door closed and the jet departed in the direction that it came from. As they exited the smoke they were greeted by a group of five men with assault rifles, the leader a tall light skinned man looked at Ichigo then at his captive and his face hardened giving the order for the other men to stand down and he slowly walked towards Ichigo. When he was close enough he spoke "my name Mikael Brandt are you the one that they call nightmare"?

Ichigo winced at the name but nodded and tossed his captive at the man's feet and answered "that'd be me and as promised I'm delivering one scumbag to one Mr. Brandt… He's all yours free of charge"

The man's eyes widened and he nodded before squatting in front of the old man and spoke "hello Miststück I bet you never thought you'd see me again'.

The old man trembled in fear and tried to speak but due to the loss of his tongue only vague grunting sounds can out "ah I see our friend has taken you tongue… it's a pity now I can't hear you beg for mercy, not that you would get any but do suppose that you being mute will keep you from repenting to the gods" said Mikael.

Mikael pulled out a combat knife and ran it alongside the old man's face causing him to grunt in terror and thrash on the ground Mikael chuckled "oh so you fear torture despite how fond of it you are… I can torture you so many different ways, in my time as mercenary I learned many ways to do so".

Yoruichi and Ichigo watched as the man continued to hold his knife against his captive's face seemingly enjoying his terror, he then leaned closer and spoke again "my daughter once asked me what torture was and after I had explained it to her, my little angel who didn't have a mean bone in her body thought for a moment then told me that it was a bad thing to hurt others and that I shouldn't hurt people needlessly… so in her memory I won't torture you. But I feel that a man as wicked as you doesn't deserve to get in to Valhalla… while I may worship the old gods every holy man of every religion that I have met seems to think that a the mark I'm going to give you is an evil curse".

As Mikael moved his knife to his captives forehead Ichigo kneeled and helped to hold him still, Yoruichi winced but stayed looking on as guttural cries of terror and pain filled the air when both men withdrew a crudely drawn and heavily bleeding 666 was on the man's forehead. Mikael then turned and barked something to the men behind him, they quickly hefted the captive and rushed him back to the town shouting happily leaving the two men alone, Mikael turned and spoke solemnly "Herr Nightmare you have my thanks for bringing him to justice… I will remember you and your kindness".

Ichigo smirked and pulled his sunglasses out of a pouch put them on and replied "don't be silly Mr. Brandt I'm a nightmare and everyone knows that nightmares are a part of your subconscious mind just an illusion that is better off forgotten".

The two men shared a handshake and parted after walking a fair distance Ichigo was enveloped by another plume of smoke and Yoruichi had to almost grab onto Ichigo to make it back to the plane, after he sat down Grim gave a knowing look and asked "is it satisfied"?

Ichigo replaced his visor and lit a cigarette before exhaling "for now it's at peace let's just hope that nobody does anything stupid to start it up again".

A short plane ride later they were back at the base, after Ichigo had dismissed the rookies while he and the other veterans changed out of their gear, when he was back in his tank top and usual harness Ichigo dismissed the senior members of his group and returned to his office. After doing a report on the mission Ichigo sighed and grabbed a change of clothes and headed to the showers Yoruichi grinned at the prospect of getting some eye candy to make an otherwise crappy day better, a prospect that quickly shot down by Holly as Ichigo walked into a changing room "sorry pervy kitty Ichi just auto activated the Jacuzzi and steamers so I don't think you'll get any sneak peeks".

Giving a disappointed grunt Yoruichi sat down beside the giant tub and let the steam soothe her aching muscles as Ichigo climbed in cleaned off the grime from the day and afterwards both of them sat in the relaxing heat of the steam as Yoruichi began to dose off… only to be woken up by Ichigo's shout of "what the fuck".

Yoruichi took in the situation Ichigo was pressed against the side of the Jacuzzi while crouching in the water to preserve modesty from the male that was standing in the tub opposite him Ichigo who had turned the color of his namesake exclaimed "what the hell are you doing here"

As the steam cleared Yoruichi got a closer look at the man, everything about him seemed off his skin had a slight yellowish tint to it to go with his natural looking acid green hair, his jawline and cheekbones looked like there was something stuffed beneath them and lastly his eyes were completely red. The man cocked his head seemingly puzzled and bowed low head barely above the water as he spoke "forgive me almighty but my king sent me to see that all your needs are fulfilled and I thought giving you a massage in the bath would help you relax after a long day in the slaughter".

Ichigo's face was hilariously caught somewhere between a scowl, an eye twitch and an eye roll, but he composed himself and answered "you don't have to bow, and thanks for the thought but I'm good… go back to your king and tell him that the gesture was well received".

The man did as instructed but it seemed the rejection wasn't well received as he quickly pleaded "but almighty you haven't been tended to if you aren't made happy then you won't bring the all-wrath… if you won't use me for relaxation then use me for pleasure your very blood sings its need to me… for your need to have reached such a state, its unacceptable"

Before Ichigo could protest the male leapt forward and tackled him trying to get his head in-between Ichigo's recently closed knees, Yoruichi was at her friends side an instant leg pulled back ready to swing cover be damned, only to stop as massive hand grabbed the man and yanked him straight out of the tub. Yoruichi turned and saw that the owner of the hand was none other than the seven foot tall battle scared tower of muscle known as Bront who was being followed closely by Grim and Nickels. Bront smashed the man into a wall and kept on crushing him while Grim holstered his revolver and tossed Ichigo a bathrobe, while Ichigo was pulling on the robe two armed guards came and arrested the man then dragged him away as he struggled and screamed out nonsense while Ichigo and the others looked on. Silence reigned for a few moments until it was broken by a snicker from Nickels which started a chain reaction that ended with Grim snickering and the other three doubled over in laughter, once the fit of laughter died down Ichigo straightened and with a shit eating grin addressed the group "well that was new, first time one of 'em has shown up in the bath… though that one was nowhere near as sexy as the last visitor I had in a bath" as he trailed off Ichigo's face adopted a dreamy look his thoughts clearly elsewhere.

Yoruichi's eyes narrowed _oh ho so Ichi has been having guests in the bathroom this had better not mean what I think it does or there WILL be consequences. _Her jealous thoughts were interrupted by Nickels teasing voice "damn captain never seen you smile like that she must be something incredible".

Ichigo snapped out of his dream and spoke in a melancholy tone "yep she really is too good to be true" his face became one of loss and regret, _he looks so sad… damnit I wish I knew who it is that you're missing so I can bring them to you, I always hate when you look sad Ichigo_.

The awkward silence that had reigned was broken by Grim "any orders captain".

Ichigo forced a smile to his face "nah just get some rest, thanks for backing me up just now I almost lost it on that guy".

His fake smile didn't go unnoticed by the group Bront and Nickels looked like they wanted to protest but a quick grunt from Grim sent them on their way albeit reluctantly. Grim waited until Ichigo finished changing back into his civilian clothes before he asked "you know I'm not big on talking but I have to know, what happened with the soul society that caused you to act like this. We are all brothers we're supposed to look out for one another giving that we are cut from a similar cloth I have a good idea of what happened so please just tell me what it is that's bothering you so that I can help".

Ichigo had been standing silent and stone faced while Grim spoke after he finished Ichigo squared his shoulders faced him and said "I appreciate the concern but this is something I got to deal with on my own, now if you'll excuse me I have a promise to keep".

Ichigo then walked off followed by a troubled Yoruichi after they had walked a good ways and came to an elevator which opened into a broom closet on the opposite side of the subway station that they had entered on much to Yoruichi's ire _why the hell does he use a death trap to enter when he has a perfectly good elevator right here, stupid, stubborn jackass. _As Ichigo walked home Yoruichi had started to divert course and report what she had seen to Kisuke but Holly stopped her "hold on their pervy kitty I can't let you go to that shopkeeper until I'm certain that he can't hack our tech, you can only tell his father what I tell you and just so you don't get any funny ideas I'll remind you that the visor you are wearing will detonate if I give a signal and even you can't survive that blast".

Yoruichi groaned and asked "great if I can't go back to the shop then where the heck am I supposed to sleep"?

Holly's incredulous face popped up on the visor "damn kitty I thought you would have jumped at any chance to crash at Ichigo's house…guess I thought wrong".

After a few moments of careful thought Yoruichi's face broke into a grin "that would work, that would work perfectly"

While Yoruichi followed Ichigo she felt Isshin's spiritual pressure coming up behind her she alerted Holly to this fact the AI's response was less than happy "just ditch him aren't you supposed to be the goddess of flashing and a former assassin this shouldn't be too difficult"

Yoruichi's ears burned as she snapped back "first its goddess of FLASH not flashing second I can't avoid him forever and since I'm going to stay at his house I'll have to come up with something and I think I have something but I can't hide your secrets if I have this visor on my face".

After making sure what Yoruichi was going to say met her standards Holly issued a command that caused the visor to transform into a choker that hid behind her scarf while leaving in an ear bud that was hidden behind a lock of hair and not one second to soon as Isshin flash stepped right next to her and asked "how you doing"?

"Good really tired, where's Kisuke"?

"He got called to the soul society, he said that he wanted you to stay at my house to keep as close an eye on him as possible and since we don't want one of the twins to see you and tell him about it he left you this pendent it makes you invisible to all but me and Kisuke, that aside what did you find out".

Inwardly Yoruichi cheered at her good luck but outwardly she sighed "I'm not sure right on what I should tell you, I haven't seen enough yet don't worry Isshin I'll keep him safe and if something bad happens I'll just drag his ass back to you… but Isshin all can tell you is what he's doing it's important".

Isshin stood there quietly for a minute Yoruichi could tell that what she said didn't give him much peace, then in an instant he was back to his rambunctious self "ok Yoru I'll trust you but just a warning be careful trying to drag him back that kid packs a wallop".

Yoruichi grinned but face palmed when she got a good look at the pendant on the front was a pink chibi Kisuke giving the V sign for victory Yoruichi and Isshin parted ways her to the Kurosaki residence and Isshin to the candy shop to help Tessai while Kisuke was away, after following Ichigo into his room only to watch as Ichigo slipped out of his clothes down to his boxers, dropped on his bed pulled up the covers and promptly passed out. Yoruichi stood there for a few minutes agonizing about the one detail she had missed _where the hell am I supposed to sleep… there's no way I'm going to cram myself in the closet and I don't really want to sleep on the floor._

Her distressed thoughts were once again interrupted by Holly "oh for the love of God just lay down on the bed, as much you were ogling him today I wouldn't think this would be a problem… what's the matter did your little school girl crush make you to squeamish to snuggle up next to the big bad commander"?

Yoruichi head began to smoke at Holly's words, she was so embarrassed that she couldn't hardly respond "what… I don't… I mean … damnit, I DON'T HAVE A CRUSH, and I'm not squeamish".

The smug sound of Holly's voice should've warned Yoruichi that something was amiss "is that so"?

Not to be outdone Yoruichi blundered on "yeah it is".

"Prove it" was Holly's overjoyed response.

"Okay fine, how"? Snapped Yoruichi totally sure the AI would back down.

"Lay down on the bed" Yoruichi swore she heard the sound of a record scratching as the full meaning of the AI's words hit her.

_Shit she called my bluff, dang… okay Yoruichi this is nothing I mean he's seen you naked so yep we can do this._ After standing in the middle of the room for ten minutes not moving Yoruichi could only hang her head in shame as Holly began goading "what's the matter scaredy-cat, you were talking so big not too long ago if you're worried he'll wake up don't be Ichigo has been going for days on end so right now he's practically in a coma… what are you waiting for you could ride him like a stallion and he would never know, not your style then that's fine but need I remind you there is a comfy bed with an even more comfy stud in it sitting there all alone waiting for someone to warm them up, so get to it before someone else does and you spend the rest of your days dreaming of what could've been".

Yoruichi's blush steadily increased as the AI talked and when it became clear she wouldn't stop until Yoruichi complied Yoruichi began thinking of a way to accomplish her goal without landing either her or her student in a situation that they would both regret, an inspiration struck her and she quickly laid down on the foot of the bed curled in a ball just under Ichigo's feet ignoring the AI's indignant "spoil sport".

Letting the exhaustion from the trials she had faced that day take over and was soon asleep… she forgot to take into account her sense of smell would pick up on Ichigo's scent, a scent that she was incredibly fond of and without the restraint of a conscious mind her body began instinctually seeking the smell and the warmth that went with it.

A FEW HOURS LATER ISSHIN POV.

As Isshin flash stepped to the house carrying his gigai and a change of clothes for Yoruichi, he was giddy with excitement just wondering about where Yoruichi had chosen to sleep after he failed to tell her that she could crash in one of the examination rooms after he had moved a futon into it for her. Once he landed on the roof of the neighbors and looked in his son's room his eyes nearly bugged out of his head, there on his son's bed curled up next to his son with her head on his chest practically nuzzling his neck with an arm embracing his middle and her left leg thrown over both of Ichigo's legs was a sleeping Yoruichi!

Even more interesting was the fact that Ichigo was embracing her as well with his left arm about her shoulder blades and his right arm laid over her left atop his abdomen, both of them wore contented smiles. After a few minutes it seemed that Yoruichi wanted more contact as she pulled herself on top of Ichigo until her legs straddled his, it was when her hips began a slight grinding motion that Isshin drew the line on how frisky she was getting… not that he was against a new daughter or some grandkids mind you but Isshin was not the type of man to stand by while his child got molested in his sleep. Isshin perched on the window sill and quietly opened the window, he began pushing his son's amorous bedmate back towards the position he found her in and had almost succeeded when Yoruichi let out a displeased moan and a few seconds later a low menacing rumble came from Ichigo. Isshin froze as the clear threat that came from the primitive sound scared the crap out of him on a primal level, only to fly out the window a second later via a kick from the miraculously still sleeping Yoruichi once Isshin extracted himself from the neighbors shrubs that he had landed in he spoke ruefully "don't disturb the love birds, got it".

After grabbing the clothes and his gigai he pulled himself up and shut the window, looking in he saw that they had taken up their original positions and he couldn't help smiling at the first look of happiness that he had seen on Ichigo's face in forever.

NEXT MORNING YORUICHI POV

Consciousness began calling for one being to wake up despite the beings unwillingness to reach that state _no… I don't want to wake up, come on just a little longer… I mean really this is awesome that slow drumbeat in the back ground, this heated pillow smells divine, and I like how it moves in a slow hypnotic motion I wanna stay forever… wait __moving_! With that last thought the being known as Yoruichi Shihouin jolted awake what she thought was a drumbeat was heartbeat that was coming from a very muscular, heavily scarred divine smelling very male chest that she had mistaken for a pillow was breathing hence the slow moving rhythm. In this moment Yoruichi's thoughts were not what you would think they would be in this situation, instead of the mild panic or shame that some would expect you to feel, hers were more of wonder she thought _hmm who would have thought that the berry head was so comfy?_

Deciding to forgo waking up for a while she placed her head back down on his chest and abruptly sat back up at the feeling of wetness she felt on her cheek, it seemed that during the night she had drooled all over his chest leaving a large wet patch of saliva she groaned in disgust and wiped the patch off his chest with her sleeve followed by the one on her cheek. She looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand beside her it read 6 o'clock in the morning and she remembered that got up around 6:30 AM, she immediately rolled over out of his embrace only for him to groan and roll towards her and begin pulling her back with his right arm.

The look of slight displeasure on his face almost made her giggle she pulled his arm off and set the rest of the way up out of his reach, he gave a whine that sounded like a kicked puppy she decided to humor him a little and lightly tussled his hair for a quick moment. Yoruichi swore she heard something that sounded suspiciously like a purr deciding to test her theory she began to run her fingers through his hair, and sure enough he began purring once again this time she did giggle and continued to giggle as he nuzzled into her hand purring the whole time.

After about 10 minutes of this he alarmingly begin to wake up and she rocketed up hoping to be able to avoid him in the small space of the bedroom he rolled into a sitting position giving her quite the view of his sculpted abs and chest, in the place of his usual scowl was a beaming smile he stood and went to his closet to pull out a pair of sweatpants and a shirt smiling the whole time. As he finished pulling on his shirt there was the sound of glass breaking and a girls panicking gasping and sobbing.

Ichigo whipped around and in an impressive display ran straight through his bedroom door then turned down the hallway and began running on all fours like before with Yoruichi hot on his heels forgetting for a moment that he wasn't a soul reaper anymore she asked aloud "what's happening Ichigo"? Then she faced palmed at her forgetfulness still following him she once again wondered how he reached such speed without his powers.

Ichigo continued running to a bedroom stopping just in time for Yoruichi to see that Karin had also arrived and was holding what looked to be a kitchen knife in reverse grip underneath a Glock 19 getting a raised eyebrow from Yoruichi at both her weapon and the familiarity with which she held it. Karin nodded to her brother who hadn't even bothered to wait for her nod, as he kicked the door apart and he ran inside face in a vicious snarl.

It was then Yoruichi got a good look at him, his canine teeth had lengthened over an inch long and his fingernails had now turned into 3 inch long black serrated raptor claws. His eyes were the most alarming change yet the whites had become a pure bloody red with the pupils a solid slit of black, inside the black slit was another slit whose color changed from a yellow that was similar to the one in his hollow transformation to a pure white. Both eyes blinked as took him a moment to take in the situation he glanced around frantically looking for attackers or the problem. Karin was behind him doing the same thing all that was there was a knocked over a lamp from the night stand with Yuzu hunched over bloody sheets on her bed with the front of her dress near the crotch region covered in blood.

Yuzu was sobbing and rocking back-and-forth with a small tissue trying to dab the blood from the front of her dress, Ichigo paused for a moment as if thinking about what was wrong with his head cocked to the side like a birds before comprehension show it in his now freaky eye color he began to walk forward. "Yuzu" he called in a voice that was too deep and animalistic to be his own, the girl did not snap out of her state but continued in her actions.

Ichigo was stopped by Karin's hand on his arm when he looked back at her, Karin looked him in the eyes expectantly then down to his hands and back up to his eyes then departed hiding the gun under her shirt, Ichigo followed her gaze and winced a quick snap of his wrist later and the claws disappeared he closed his eye and slowed his breathing when he reopened them they had returned back to their natural warm brown state. Ichigo walked up to his sister saying her name few times, when it was clear that she wouldn't snap out of it he walked over and grabbed her by the shoulders with a jolt she whipped around and looked at him panicking for a second then began hysterically sobbing as she jumped into his arms she sobbed out "Ichi-nii I think I'm dying".

Ichigo gave her a comforting smile and said "no silly you're not dying you're just growing up", he began to explain the particulars to her in a calming voice.

Yoruichi asked "Holly what happened to him"?

"Do you really want to know" asked Holly in a timid voice?

"Of course I want to know what the hell happened to my friend and why he's involved with all this 'archangel' stuff" snapped Yoruichi with the image of his emotionless face as he gunned down Anatoly on her mind.

Holly spoke solemnly as if giving a death sentence "well then you'd better prepare yourself because for that info you're going to have to talk to the doc".

A\N

I LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVVVVVVVVE!

Wahoo that was a tough one sorry it took so long to get out but as you all know life can suck at times.

That aside I want to thank everyone who reviewed and fav\followed you guys are awesome please keep it up, also I hope the above chapter wasn't to gruesome for you, I was trying to show that Ichigo isn't innocent or a saint I was trying to show his rough tough "nightmare" side. I don't want you to think that the Ichigo in my fic is nothing but a sadistic mercenary, I will explain his abilities and troubled past in much greater detail in the upcoming chapters.

I would like to point out the review by the anonymous guest: first I really appreciate your very accurate review and I would have preferred if you had logged in so I could have sent this via PM.

1) Does this chapter explain how the soul society is being so easily restricted, I hope so but if not I'll recap for you task force arch angel is a group of warriors dedicated to protecting the earth with a secondary purpose of safeguarding alien tech that has been acquired throughout the ages, using that alien tech task force archangel has continually progressed up the scale in science, warfare and knowledge. So in this case their tech is light years ahead of the soul society, also the headset Holly tricked Yoruichi into wearing has a small nuclear device that gives off a concentrated blast capable of leveling a city block or taking off the head of a captain class soul reaper, also when Holly and Yoruichi met in Ichigo's office Holly sealed the doors and threatened to flood the office with plasma that was heated to the same temperature as the sun which if I'm not mistaken could be fatal to even a captain class shinigami.

2) here I would like to point out that you were incorrect when you said "being able to injure a soul reaper with no spiritual power is BS" it is very possible and it has happened in bleach a couple of times to my knowledge number one: when chad and Rukia were fighting the hollow named shrieker chad not only punched and kicked the hollow but even hit it with a telephone pole, when Rukia deduced that he couldn't even see the hollow but was relying on his instincts … now you may argue that chad was already getting his powers from Ichigo's out of control powers and that is fair' number two: during the fulbring arc Ichigo stabs a hollow in the face with a pipe while trying to protect Yuzu and by that point it had been stated many times that Ichigo had NO POWERS AT ALL.

3) as for the obstacles faced by Isshin, Kisuke and Yoruichi aka the trap door…Ya got me it sucked I know but that was a quick fix to mend some plot holes I will probably go back and fix it at some point in the future.

Again thanks to all the people who reviewed please don't hold your breath waiting for the next chapter as it will be a necessarily long one and I will be very busy, if you want me to I can split the chapter into three smaller ones to make them come out quicker… drop me a PM let me know what you think.

As always read review tell me what you liked\didn't like have a good day


	5. Chapter 5

Himitsu no akumu

Disclaimer: man I don't own shit.

Yoruichi stared at the AI incredulously "you couldn't have made that more dramatic if you tried".

Holly smirked "I suppose so but none the less if you want the answers you're gonna have speak with the doc and yes she already knows about you and can't wait to meet you"

Yoruichi hummed as she watched Ichigo continue caring for his little sister "alright Yuzu take these ibuprofens and hop in the shower I'll take care of cleaning up".

After he had changed the linens and swept up the broken lamp Ichigo went down into the clinic and began rummaging through multiple cupboards after a few minutes of not finding whatever he was looking for Ichigo gave a disappointed huff before deepening his scowl and moving his lips without saying anything, a few seconds later he winced followed by more silent lip moving. Once his face cleared he started walking towards the kitchen only to stop and swear then run up the stairs to his room, following him Yoruichi watched as he grabbed his phone and dialed a number when the other person picked up Holly displayed it on the headset.

"Hello" greeted a young but familiar voice.

"Hi this is Ichigo is Yuma there"?

"Ichigo?... OH you mean Tora-kun, this is Yuma when are you going to be here".

"sigh I wish I could Yuma but my sister isn't feeling well and I can't make it… but you and your mother are more than welcome to come over here and hang out, I'm sure my sister would love to meet you".

"sister… uhh sorry Tora-kun but I don't think I can come over, have a nice day bye". The little girl rattled off then hung up the phone before Ichigo could get a word in.

"Huh weird" was Ichigo's puzzled reply while staring intently at his phone.

His thoughts were interrupted by a trio of loud knocks on the front door, Ichigo moved to open the door with Yoruichi following closely. Upon opening the door and taking in the visitor Yoruichi took an involuntary step back, the man was tall at least 6'7 with sandy blonde hair, hazel eyes and light stubble he was wearing a dark grey trench coat and black gloves. Years in the stealth force had taught her how to read a person this man's very aura portrayed madness and cunning similar to a feral animal, his demeanor radiated power and confidence while his smell reminded her of war, death, decay and desperation all came together to make for an overpowering musk. Yoruichi's instincts seemed to warn her not to underestimate or cross this man.

Ichigo on the other hand didn't seem bothered he simply appraised the man the two large bags he was carrying and the large revolver that was visible at the front of his open trench coat before stating simply "Krieg".

The man smirked slightly and greeted "agent orange" Yoruichi noted a slight Scottish accent to his voice.

"You made good time getting here… you didn't kill anyone did you" queried Ichigo in English.

Krieg frowned "eh no but a certain cashier may need therapy… stupid whore got pushy".

Ichigo snorted in amusement "thank heaven for little miracles… what's in the bags"?

Krieg proffered the smaller bag "just everything the little lass needs pads, tampons menstrual pills and every treat that I could think to make her feel better".

Ichigo's grin grew a little larger "so what's in the other bag"?

Krieg shrugged "oh just the entire stuffed bear section".

Ichigo snickered "well seems like your fit to spoil her rotten, come on in but first cover up and hide the piece".

Krieg reached down and pressed something on his belt and just like that the oppressive musk vanished after shifting his weapon so it wouldn't be visible the duo made their way upstairs to the twin's room, Yuzu who was laying down on her bed. Yoruichi winced in sympathy pain as Yuzu gingerly touched her stomach with a sour expression, her mood visibly brightened when she saw he visitor.

"Krieg-san"!

She made to get up only to be stopped by Krieg's gloved pointer finger pressing against her forehead "hey now little princess you shan't be getting out of that bed, just lay back and rest while your brother and I work on spoiling you" still in English.

Yuzu blushed heavily as Krieg's accent became more pronounced, Ichigo still smirking grabbed the first bag pulled some things out and said "well 'little princess' before your spoiling first we have to take care of a few things ok".

While Ichigo lead a still blushing Yuzu to the bathroom Krieg walked to the kitchen unknowingly followed by a suspicious Yoruichi, "holly who is he"?

Holly for once was slow to respond "that's Sanderson Krieg… you could say he's Ichi's other right hand, just let the doc explain it"

Yoruichi nodded while watching as Krieg pulled items out of the bag and put them away chocolates, several different tubs of ice cream and an assortment of groceries. Once his task was done he returned to the room where Yuzu was standing awkwardly, she mumbled under her breath "Ichi it feels weird".

Ichigo cringed and said "it will get better I promise not lay down and hang out with Krieg while I make us some food".

Yuzu obeyed and laid down with Krieg sitting next to her there was a moment of silence then Yuzu asked in English "Krieg this sucks why does this happen"?

"language little dear… I could give all of the specifics but suffice to say it's a necessary cycle for reproduction".

Yuzu frowned and with uncharacteristic belligerence asked "oh then why don't men get one"?

Krieg chuckled "well good princess that's because us men are all giant sissy's, women are made of sterner stuff and if men had to go through that we wouldn't be able to take the pain and wouldn't get anything done. Now then lets us do away with all unpleasantness my princess for I your loyal squire have returned from parts far away and I come bearing gifts for your fancy".

With that Krieg open the bag and a metaphorical shit ton of teddy bears poured out onto the bed surrounding a happily squealing Yuzu who began to gush about what types there were how many there are and what she should name them.

"wow that was supper corny" came the aloof voice of Karin.

"hush you" Krieg replied whist beaning Karin in the face with a small rectangle that said FIFA on the side.

Karin's enraged face soon became ecstatic as she disappeared down the hall, soon food was delivered along with a laptop for Yuzu to watch movies on after a while Yuzu dosed off on Krieg's shoulder with a light blush. Ichigo stood in the doorway staring at the scene before him, it was painfully obvious to Yoruichi that Yuzu had a major crush on Krieg it seemed to be obvious to Ichigo as well because he quirked an eyebrow in their direction. Krieg frowned prompting Ichigo to smirk thus it dissolved into Ichigo grinning wider and wider as Krieg narrowed his eyes more and more, when Ichigo's grin reached shit eating Krieg broke and exclaimed "oh go fuck yourself, smug jackass"!

Ichigo spoke with barely restrained mirth and an innocent shrug "but I didn't _say _anything".

Yoruichi took a moment to appreciate the teasing side of Ichigo but it was soon taken when holly chirped "ok kitty the doc is ready to see you now just leave through Ichigo's window its already open".

Nodding her understanding Yoruichi departed and made her way to the train stop, she then spent the next thirty or so minuets following personal through the doors holly pointed out until she came to a door that opened for her on its own. Once she stepped inside she was greeted by the sight of a highly advance looking lab, then a medium height slender brunet woman stepped out from behind a machine closer inspection placed her in the mid thirty's range wearing wire rim glasses and a lab coat.

The woman looked in her general direction for a moment before barking "holly detach and prepare".

Yoruichi was once again surprised as her headset detached and fell only for vents to open at her feet and blast out a white substance that began to cling to her, trying to shake it off proved futile. Yoruichi could only watch as the substance covered her body hardened to her form turned black then matched her skin tone.

"greetings Yoruichi my name is doctor Patricia… I'd give my last name but that's classified but this is truly a pleasure".

Yoruichi spun around while, she was worried about the substance the doctor had seated herself at a desk and was now appraising her, the doctor finished with a grunt of disgust but quickly dissolved it to a mask of indifference.

"what the fuck was that" screeched Yoruichi?

"that was me forming a type of body for you _darling… _does the soul society not have those, wait I thought they were called… oh yes gigai".

This lady's attitude was really starting to piss her off but she had to admit the body truly felt like an extension of herself and not stuffy like the one Kisuke makes "ok that does it what is the meaning of this, restraining me in Ichigo's office making gigai's sensing me in the first place who are you people and what the hell is going on"?

Patricia snorted then replied "do you flunky's really think it was difficult all beings are made of energy weather you are a monster human or soul reaper, once you have knowledge of that energy you can influence it how you want. Also any imbecile can make a body fit for this dimension the one surrounding you is simply made from Nano machines that instantly calibrate to your energy and vocal patterns…you soul reapers think you are so superior because your energy moves on a frequency that can't be detected through normal means, but alas it just proves how inferior you really are… not that a bunch of katana wielding fascists would understand".

Yoruichi sputtered in indignation but Patricia continued "regardless your inferiority is not in question here… you wish to know why your 'precious student' is acting differently, traditional methods would take too long so we're going to use a shortcut follow me".

Yoruichi want to continue the spat but you what they say about curiosity and the cat, she followed the doctor to a dimly lit room with a single futuristic looking dentist chair. "in order for you get the info I'm going to hook you up to this chair and it will allow you to see Ichigo's past in the 'gods eye view' but be warned what you will see will change your view drastically".

Yoruichi looked at the chair askance the asked "so is this safe also why are you helping me"?

Patricia sighed "it is perfectly safe my orders were not harm one of your lot if I should run into them, I'm helping you for my own personal reasons… now please step into the machine which has been name against my will 'the matrix'".

Yoruichi quirked a brow "what's that"?

"you don't want to know".

As the machine was placed Yoruichi felt the world fade away and she felt as though she was in a giant empty room, then she heard the doctors voice " I will present his past in a sequence of event that hopefully you will be able to grasp …let's begin event 0".

**A/N I'm back.**

**Shadow of corruption: here it is as promised thank you for lighting the fire under me.**

**To everyone who reviewed/ followed thank you **

**Going forward the chapters will a little longer than this and hopefully a lot more frequent… if life doesn't keep doing me dirty. But now we shall get to the meat of the story.**

**Couple of things I want to address the name of Ichigo's squad mate that I botched will be Jessica lol sorry.**

**The motto for task force archangel translates to "by our blood Asgard still stands".**

**Holly the AI is a peppy version of Cortana her name was taken from an intersection where I almost got killed at three times **

**Sanderson Krieg is definitely based off of alexander Anderson from helsing **

**Doctor Patricia is a less nutty version of Patricia Tannis from borderlands **

**Please drop a review tell me what you liked/ didn't like… no seriously please do those reviews are like a drug. **


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